The Book of Nehemiah opens with a inquiry of how Nehemiah's fellow kinsmen are doing in Jerusalem. Twelve years earlier, the King of Persia had signed a decree allowing the surviving Israelites to move back to Jerusalem after spending 70 years in captivity in Babylon. Nehemiah is the cup bearer to the King and when visitors arrive from Jerusalem, he inquires of the well being of the cherished city.
It is here that Nehemiah learns that the city is once again in physical and spiritual shambles.
In Nehemiah chapter 1, we are given insight into how Nehemiah handled the news he heard.
1. Nehemiah weeps upon hearing of the state of Jerusalem. He has an immediate emotional response.
2. Nehemiah mourns, fasts, and prays to God.
There are many things wrong in our country or cities today. A quick list looks something like this but I'm sure each of you could add many more to the list.
1. The breakdown of the family.
2. Abortion
3. Homosexual agenda
4. Greedy corporate leaders
5. Leadership acting outside of God's will
6. Depression and Suicide
7. False teachers in the Church
8. Materialism
9. Evolution theory taught in schools as fact, even in some Christian schools
10. Prevalent violence and sex in the media
Do any of things things in shambles today cause you to weep in a deep immediate emotional response like Nehemiah did when he heard the state of Jerusalem?
Are you willing to seek God's heart in these matters and inquire of how you might play a part in repairing one of these areas?
You see, Nehemiah didn't let his immediate response pass by. He didn't let his grief turn into apathy. He didn't accept the condition and just let it continue as status quo.
Instead, Nehemiah sought God's heart in the matter through prayer and fasting.
Fasting is a way to get closer to God, to hear what he has to say about something, to get clarity and focus, and to know the heart and will of God in a matter.
It's through this exercise in self sacrifice that Nehemiah first sees sin as the cause and in great humility seeks repentance, both for the people of Jerusalem, and for himself. His sin is as much to blame as those living there. Often times we are eager to point out the sin in the lives of others but neglect to connect the dots that our sin is just as much to blame for the problems of the world today. Nehemiah lets God shine a light into his own heart and he repents of his own sin.
It's also through this process that Nehemiah moves from helpless bystander to someone with a vision for repair and a resolve to be the one to initiate it. He took the time to inquire of God's heart and will in the matter, and he is now armed with both a certainty of what to do about the problem and that he would have success because it was from God.
Have we ever allowed ourselves to move from grief over an issue to resolve to do something about it?
If there is something on the above list that leaves you in great despair, God may be calling you to do something about it. I believe our strong emotions are there for a reason. To get our attention. To move us to act. Emotion without action is wasting the emotion.
Problems sometimes seem so big, so far reaching, and so beyond my ability to do something about it, so we just concede that it's not for me to worry about. We tell ourselves that it's for someone else to tackle. Someone with more competent skills than I and we let our emotion slip into apathy.
What if everyone thought the same way? What if everyone wasted their emotion with inaction?
God gave Nehemiah a vision of what he wanted to happen in this situation. God helped Nehemiah set a goal and gave him the resolve to tackle it. It wasn't done in the strength of Nehemiah but in the strength of God.
If left up to us, we would waste every motivating emotion. However, we all have the opportunity to call on the Lord for guidance, strength, vision, and resolve.
The questions we must ask ourselves are this.
1. What problems speak to us through grief, sadness, anger?
2. Are we willing to ask God if the strong emotions we feel toward situations are a sign that God wants to use us to invoke change?
3. Are we willing to allow God to transform us into action?
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