As we close this study, the thing that stays permanently fixed in my mind is ... "Trust and Obey". Obedience is always the touch point in personal revival. We seek God's heart on all matters - and that is done through prayer. Learn some lessons from Nehemiah. He cared. And because he cared ...
1. He cared enough to ask. (1: 1 - 3) He was genuinely concerned about the folks back in Jerusalem. It was not just polite asking - it was asking with the desire to really know.
2. He cared enough to weep (1:4) I hear Jesus saying "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)
3. He cared enough to pray (1: 5 - 10) I must confess that I have a struggle here. My tendency is to plan first ... and then pray that God will bless my plans. That is totally backwards. Nehemiah understood that you must pray first ... seek the heart of God on the matter ... then, and only then, make plans.
4. He cared enough to volunteer. (1:11) He was like Isaiah when Isaiah said, "Here I am, send me." He knew that it was not someone else's task. He had a heart for the work ... so he had hands for the task.
What do you care about? What matters most to you? Learn from Nehemiah ...
Gail, thanks so much for all the time, thought, and prayer you have put into this study -- I have truly been blessed!
ReplyDelete1. ask
2. weep
3. pray
4. volunteer
I've been meditating on that list and I noticed that while I'm fairly generous with the first three, I tend to place "fences" around #4... "Lord, this is what I'm good at, so sure -- I'll do it. Not really good at that, so it must be 'somebody else's job'... right, Lord?" But I suspect in God's book it's often less about the job than it is about my own character development; instead of telling Him what I'm willing to do for Him, I need to be willing to do what He chooses... which at times can be terrifying!
Mark Batterson in The Wild Goose Chase writes "When did we start to believe God wants us to go safe places to do easy things?" Any truth there?
Thanks again for a thought-provoking study. I think I know my homework assignment!
Good observations ... and difficult! I don't know when we decided that God wanted us to be comfortable and at ease. Bad theology!
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