September 1: Nehemiah 4:1-5
 
Key Verse: Nehemiah 4:4
Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.
 
Devotion:
What happens when you get mocked or ridiculed? How do you feel? Who do you turn to? All normal questions and the response of Nehemiah is normal too - “God, don’t let them get away with this!”
 
It’s OK to get angry when people berate you. It’s OK to want something done about those people – but how we go about it must be in line with what God wants in our lives and in their lives! We can’t really ask God to send fire and brimstone down on them if there is a chance they can get to know God. We can’t ask God to get rid of them just because they are making our lives difficult. But we can let God know our feelings! We can tell God we feel like they should pay for what they are doing to us...
 
Our relationship with God must be honest and up front. If we are trying to continually hide things from God, we are going to get caught up in those feelings more than we can deal with and our hearts will turn against them in a way which God would not approve of.
 
We can look at what was happening and consider Nehemiah quite within his rights to want those men to be punished for what they were doing; but consider this: They were speaking up against what God had asked Nehemiah to do and so their judgment must be dealt with by God and not by Nehemiah. So, whilst it was OK for him to get angry, he should defer his anger to God and allow God to deal with it in due course.
 
When God asks you to do something, we should obey Him no matter what is happening and try to make sure we keep level-headed during our work – even when the mockers and haters come out of the wood and cause us concern. But make sure you are honest with your feelings with God!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you just put up with stuff because it’s the Christian thing to do?
 
Will you allow God to know your true feelings?