September 5: Nehemiah 5:1-8
Key Verse: Nehemiah 5:3
Others were saying, ‘We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine.’
Devotion:
Have you ever noticed when things start getting back to normal, you find more things to complain about? I’m not judging here to say the complaints were or were not justified, because they were legitimate complaints! But as things change in our lives, so does the focus of the things we seem to care most about. When things are bad we accept a lot of what comes into our lives as unavoidable to acceptable, but as things do improve, the acceptability line moves too!
Nehemiah could see what was happening and it was a class or social standing thing. The people who had thing were protecting what they had and even exploiting the people who did not have; because they were not able to do much about it! Jesus wants us to step back from our self-imposed social standings and step forward to help the people who are closest to us... not closest as in friends or relatives, but our neighbours!
The more we step away from social positions and standings the more we are able to see the real need of the people around us instead of our greed taking over and imposing greater restrictions on those same people. We do need to think more about our neighbours and more about how we can make our communities better places to live, not just for us but for everyone!
Nehemiah did not mince his words and he aimed what he said directly at the people who were responsible for the suffering of their neighbours. Unfortunately, social standing breeds social positions and the more people look at their social positions, the more they work against others who are not in the same social positions. It is a sad fact of life, but one which desperately needs to change!
Points to Ponder:
Do you stick to your social clicks?
Will you step back and reach out to someone from a different social position to you?
September 4: Nehemiah 4:21-23
Key Verse: Nehemiah 4:23
Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.
Devotion:
How ready are you to fight for something you believe in. We see and hear about many people on the media who are standing up and fighting for things they believe in. People all around the world are rebelling against authorities who have not done what they said they would do or have not stood up for justice. People demand justice, especially when so much of the world is in turmoil – we may think governments are too busy fighting one thing to focus on what the public are demanding... but whom do they stand up for? Is it not the public?
I’m not suggesting we all start a rebellion or anything like that yet, but what I would like to focus on is the strength we gain from standing up together and doing what we believe is right or righteous. God has always wanted us to stand up for righteousness and indeed to stand up for those who struggle to stand up for themselves.
In these verses we see and insight into how the people of Jerusalem were strengthened and spurned on to finish the rebuilding of the wall because they were all working together. They knew an enemy was waiting at the gate (metaphorically and possibly physically speaking) and they knew they had to stand up to the enemy. They had already lived through oppression and nobody felt like they could stand up against these people any more than anyone else – but together they could!
When we want to do something for and with God, we need to look around and find the people who are willing to stand up with us and fight for justice, fight for God and know He is going to back us up when we listen to His instruction. Nehemiah acted on God’s instructions and not his own wants and desires – his heart was driven by God!
Points to Ponder:
DO you walk away from confrontation just to keep the peace?
Are you willing to stand up and do what God asks?
September 3: Nehemiah 4:10-18
Key Verse: Nehemiah 4:15
When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our work.
Devotion:
One of the biggest things I have learned over the years is that a team is so much better than trying to do stuff alone; no matter what you are doing in life! It was drummed into us when playing sports at school, and indeed is how we managed to win many of our games – by working as an integrated team we were able to overcome shortcomings in other players as they tried to highlight their own skills rather than working as a team themselves.
This is what God was teaching Nehemiah as they worked to complete the rebuilding of the walls, not just as a team of people but as a team of the people with God too! Remembering God is on your team and you need to work together is paramount in every walk in life! When others see we are working as a team, they may well back off because they know they are losing the battle, either that or they get so worked up they are not winning they make mistakes and fluster themselves.
I love working with God because it gives me a lot of confidence things are going to work out for the better. I love working as a team because sharing the tasks does make it a lot easier and quicker to reach the goal set before us.
But what we must not do is lose focus on the fact we are with God and He should be the captain – not you! Nehemiah had no illusion God was in control, but sometimes it is the sight of a team of people at work which will encourage other people. We do like to see someone else leading or succeeding before we come forward to do the same. Sometimes we must be the pioneers so other missionaries can follow and be encouraged to carry on the work!
Points to Ponder:
Do you feel like you are out on a limb?
Do you know God is by your side?
September 2: Nehemiah 4:6-9
Key Verse: Nehemiah 4:9
But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.
Devotion:
One thing you can always count on is you will face opposition when you do something good with or for God! Well, you probably will get opposition when you do anything good... But look at the bigger picture and see how many more people are supporting you, often silently, because you are doing something good. It is the few who have the loudest voices which you hear above everybody else though!
God will continue to enable you and support you when you are doing something for Him, but people around you may well take offense because they are no longer the popular ones or are no longer the ones who appear to be in charge. When you step forward and God enables you, you are taking on a position of authority which will get you noticed.
When Jesus came to teach us, it was not with words of encouragement to say you would not face opposition but with words of warning saying you would face opposition. This, as you can pick up from the bible, has been a problem we have faced right from the beginning of time – the more we work with and for God, the more the haters take notice and the more they are encouraged to make a noise about it!
I love the way Nehemiah acted. First, he prayed to God! This must always be our first reaction when we face opposition. Then, he listened to God. This may not be written down, but from past performance, this is what Nehemiah would do. He listened to God and then acted accordingly. So, lastly, he posted guards at places around the wall, not to protect against an army, but to dissuade the haters from starting in the first place. If we listen early, God will guide us quickly!
Points to Ponder:
Would you fight a fire by yourself?
Will you listen to the guidance of One who knows?