Focus
Let yourself become open to God and the knowledge that comes from the Word. Ask God for peace at this time.
Read
Nehemiah 1:1-11
1 The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah. In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in Susa the capital, 2 one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. 3 They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.”
4 When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. 7 We have offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!”
At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.
Reflect
In her book Walking on Water, author Madeline L’Engle says, “We need to know that if we turn from God, if we are rebellious and stiff-necked, we deeply offend the Holy Spirit; we may not take him for granted; he indwells us on his own conditions, not ours. We cannot simply ingest him when we feel like it, like an aspirin.”
God doesn’t want us to be fair-weather friends or church-goers of convenience. As Nehemiah reminds us of God’s promise to Moses, punishment must follow betrayal. Like this cup-bearing servant, many of us weep and mourn over the sin and corruption surrounding our society, but do we as Christians make an attempt to combat this evil? Nehemiah also reminds us to take action, humble ourselves, confess our own sins, and revere His name.
While the sacred walls of our world today often appear to be broken down and ablaze with wickedness, we need only to turn back to the Lord to receive His blessings.
In our humanness, we offend God on a daily basis; but our great God of grace and mercy will gather us from those places of sin and allow us to return to Him if we obey His commandments.
Pray
Lord, help me to do my part in keeping your commandments. Help us as a society to delight in revering your name, and grant us mercy. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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