Doing Our Part (Nehemiah 1:1-11)

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>Reflection

God is always faithful in doing His part. He is always ready to carry His weight, to pull
through on His part of the deal. People, however, are not. Our faithfulness is like
strawberries or avocados; it’s really a seasonal thing. Many times we find ourselves
drifting off in the pursuit of something “better.” God ultimately gives us over to our
wandering hearts. We pursue our own passions and then, in given time, find ourselves
in the wake of misfortune. This is the story of the Israelites. Inch by inch they crept
from God until He’d had enough and gave them over to their enemies. Jerusalem was
destroyed and with it, the lives of the Israelites. Such was the effect of Israel’s
unfaithfulness. Yet God remained faithful; His blessing simply pended upon their
repentance.

Nehemiah is the story of the physical reconstruction of Jerusalem. Of course, renewal
is holistic. In the preceding book, Ezra, the Israelites were led in spiritual renewal
which focused on the rebuilding of the temple and centralization of the Torah.
Nehemiah focused on the physical renewal of Israel. Both were needed.


Nehemiah knew God was faithful. He recognized the dilapidated state of Israel as a
consequence of the people’s sin (v. 8). Knowing that the road to renewal began with
recognizing and turning from one’s own sin, he began the reconstruction with an
earnest prayer of repentance. He cried, “I confess the sins we Israelites, including
myself and my father’s house, have committed against you” (v. 6). Nehemiah
recounted God’s promise to Israel back to Him, “If you return to me and obey my
commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather
them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my
Name” (v. 9). Nehemiah trusted that if He led the people of Israel to do their part-to love
and exalt the one true God-then God would do His part in reestablishing and
prospering them in the land.

- W. C.

>Application

Are you doing your part in your relationship with Christ? If you’ve found yourself in dire
straights, there’s the possibility that your position in life is a result of your rebellion
against God and His direction in your life. This is not always true. But in many cases it
is. One trusty determiner is your conscious, your “sixth sense,” if you will. Your heart
is a moral compass that God uses to guide you in the direction you must take. Have
you obeyed Him?

>A Letter to God

”Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and mind; for your love is ever before
me” (Ps. 26:2-3). Show me the ways I am unfaithful to You and lead me in repentance.
Thank You for the blessings which are sure to follow, for You are a faithful and
benevolent God. Amen.