Nehemiah was a faithful man of God who had a heart of compassion and determination. Earlier in the series, I wrote about Nehemiah’s prayer life, his repentance, and his boldness. Today I want to talk about the favor of God that rested on Nehemiah.
When Nehemiah heard the news about Jerusalem, he was devastated. This remained the focus for him. As he was grieving, he created plan of action to help his people and decided he must go and help rebuild the walls.
As detailed in my previous posts, Nehemiah went first and foremost to the throne of God asking for forgiveness, and to seek guidance in his circumstances. Nehemiah knew that obeying Jesus went above and beyond anything else so before making drastic decisions he prayed and discussed the will of the Father. Also, he was ashamed that his people went against the Lord and rejected His favor. This grieved Nehemiah tremendously. Because of this, he would not move forward with his plan without the favor and blessing of God,
Eatlier I wrote about Nehemiah’s boldness when going before the king to make requests. No one ever did this and the outcome could have been brutal, but he stepped out in faith and the king graciously answered his requests. There is no other way to describe this except for the favor of God.
Nehemiah also knew that his traveling journey would not be an easy one, and that he would need supplies to rebuild the walls. However, the Lord in His great mercy, provided what was needed, and gave Him favor and wisdom for the road ahead. Nehemiah states 2:8-9,
“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? 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. 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.”
Nehemiah was obedient and God paved the road for Nehemiah and helped him fulfill his calling. Although, as we will study in upcoming chapters, there was much adversity ahead for Nehemiah and his amen but they did not let that deter from their mission. Adversity made them stronger.
When one is being obedient to the call of God, He will always put His favor upon you and guide you along no matter how hard or hopeless the future may seem.
Obedience to Jesus does not mean an easy life. It is just the opposite. Ministry can be filled with much adversity, but like we are learning from our friend Nehemiah, God will carry us through it all, and we will never regret obeying Him.
To read other posts in the series visit here.
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