Nehemiah was the king’s cup-bearer. In those days, that simply meant that he was the guy to take the first drink and bite to make sure the king was not poisoned. No small task. As that guy, the king became very attuned to changes in attitude and behavior. So when the king and his wife noticed Nehemiah’s sadness, they wanted to make sure it was not about them. Nehemiah knew that not being focused and positive to the king could literally cost him his job and his life. So, Nehemiah came clean. He told the king he was heartsick about the devastated Jerusalem. The exiles had returned a generation before, and yet it was still in shambles and the people a mess.
The king was probably relieved–Is that all? We can fix that–so he asked Nehemiah what he wanted to do and God’s man set a plan out to effect repairs. If the truth were to be told, no one else was closer to the King, no one else was more passionate about the nation of Israel–so the king’s protector was now the man God chose to rebuild Jerusalem. It is so like God, He picks the last person we would expect but the absolute best person for the role.
In our lives, God chooses us often to fulfill roles we would never expect to fill. He stretches us, tests us, disciplines us and prepares us to navigate the difficult path we call life. Sometimes we simply cannot understand why we are cast in the role He selects. We do not have to understand, we only have to trust and follow His lead. That is the life of Nehemiah–as we will see. More importantly, it is the life of all who would seek God and His leadership. Help me, Lord to trust and follow you!!!
God Bless You
In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? 8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. 9 So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me.
10 When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites.
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Author: Michael Smith
This is an amazing Journey. I hope you will hear from the Lord, as you seek Him with your heart. Matthew 6:33
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