We are in disgrace!

Nehemiah 2:17Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.”

The people of Judah had tried building the wall and failed. They learnt to live with the broken walls for more than 100 years now.

Nehemiah who came down to build the wall:

• He didn’t blame the people of Judah for their failures 
• He didn't look down on the people and their lack of passion. 
• He didn’t give free advice of what should have been done. 
• He didn’t exalt himself as a superhero who came  for rescue. 

But he identified himself as one among them!

It was not their troubles, but our troubles!
It was not  "you are in disgrace”, but  "We are in disgrace".

Everyday we come across people who are suffering, who are broken, who are in difficult situations and request us for prayers or counsel. 

How do we deal with them? 
Do we judge them hearing their story? 
Are we quick to offer them advice on dos and don’ts? 

Job’s three friends came to strengthen Job hearing about the tragedies (Job 2:11-13). But they gave him long speeches, judged him, spoke words that were not God’s true characters and finally got rebuked by the Lord (Job 42:7-9).

 But Jesus identified Himself with the broken people:

• He wept with Mary and Martha, 
• He listened to the Samaritan woman, 
• He feasted with Zacchaeus, 
• He spoke for the prostitute woman who was about to be stoned. 

May we be like Jesus and Nehemiah, identify ourselves with people who are broken, wear their shoes, walk with them, listen to them, see and experience their troubles as our own troubles, weep with them and gently draw them to the Lord.

Nehemiah's Inspection of the Wall

Nehemiah 2:13I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Dragon Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire.

For the first time, Nehemiah saw with his eyes what had been reported to him, and what God had called him to repair. Nehemiah wasn’t just sightseeing. Instead, he carefully studied the broken-down walls and the burned gates. The word inspected in Nehemiah 2:13 and 2:15 is a medical term for “probing a wound to see the extent of its damage.”

David was very much troubled in his heart as he was chased by Saul. David saw Saul’s anger upon him, but he couldn’t comprehend why Saul was angry at him. He couldn’t see Saul’s jealousy and the evil spirit behind this terrible anger. 

We too are often carried away by the problems on the surface, we see child’s rebellion, spouse’s fear, our own frustration and try treating it on the surface. We don’t see way beyond it, to find what is causing it or how to repair it!

But our Lord has stronger probing eyes than Nehemiah, He sees way beyond our face and emotions. He sees our hearts, thoughts and even the motives behind our thoughts.

May we subject ourselves and our families into the Lord’s probing eyes and get to know the root of the problems. 
He probes us not to condemn us but to heal us and repair us. 
May we allow the master Healer and the master builder to probe us, to reveal us and to heal & repair us.

Psalms 139:23-24Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Nehemiah - A threat to the enemies

Nehemiah 2:10When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard this, it distressed them exceedingly that a man had come to inquire for and require the good and prosperity of the Israelites.

Sanballat was probably the governor of Samaria, the region immediately to the north of Jerusalem. Tobiah, probably the governor of Ammon, the region just to the east of Jerusalem across the Jordan River, was most likely Sanballat’s friend and business partner. These men had become rich and powerful under Persians, exercising control over Jerusalem and its inhabitants. These two cared nothing as long as Jerusalem was weak and vulnerable; as long as the people of God were not strong, not secure, and lived in disgrace. But when Nehemiah stepped in to remove the disgrace, they became exceedingly distressed. 

This is how our enemy behaves too. He doesn’t bother as long as we remain prayer-less, in sin, in pleasures, in discouragement, in fear, in unbelief and of no use to the Kingdom of God. But when we repent of our sins, step in obedience, when we aspire to grow in holiness, when we walk in Spirit, when we long for God’s name to be glorified in our lives, when we try pulling out someone out of fire, that is when he becomes agitated.

Some people fear ever stepping out for the LORD, because they know opposition will come. 
Few think their life will be better or easier if they stay in their low, mediocre state before God. 
What a deception it is! 

May we not settle for anything less out of fear of opposition. May we be as bold as the little David, when the entire nation and the army was trembling in fear of Goliath, he boldly stepped in alone for the name of the Lord to be glorified!

1 Samuel 17:26And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Nehemiah on Mission

Nehemiah 2:9Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen.

Finally Nehemiah was set on a 800 miles, 3 months, day and night journey from Persia to Jerusalem. He reached the border “Beyond the River” and will be stepping into the land of Judah after giving the letters to governors at the check post. 

Nehemiah prayed, planned and he got into his mission now. 
It costed him his comfort, luxury, his safety, his stress free life, but he opted for it.

We sometimes substitute "talking about" evangelism for actually "doing" it. We keep talking about sinful, unjust world and to an extent, we pray about it. But our Lord, is the God of missions. He didn’t “keep talking” Himself about the sinful world, He did something about it. It costed Him, His only Beloved Son! He sent His Only Beloved Son as a first missionary to this world.

As the children of God, like Nehemiah, we are not just called to “speak about,” “pray about” a broken wall but to go and do something for it. Going and doing would cost us our comfort, our convenience, our time, effort, energy, our peaceful and stress free life, would get our hands dirty. 

But just Imagine if God didn’t send His only Son to this World, imagine if the missionaries from the western countries didn’t come to us, owing to their comfortable life, where we would have been?

We are ought to go into the world, meet the people in dire and sinful situations, touch their lives with the good news of the gospel, NOT BECAUSE WE ARE RESCUERS, BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN RESCUED!!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Give God the Due Glory

Nehemiah 2:8And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me.

As we study the book of Nehemiah, we are so amazed at the selflessness, burden of Nehemiah. We saw how he tarried in prayers and fasting, how he overcame his fears to speak out, how he was in constant communion with the Lord, how he prayerfully planned. We trust that all these noble attributes of Nehemiah brought him so far.

But when we ask Nehemiah, the secret of his victory, he humbly redirects our hearts to the good hand of the Lord. He gives all the glory, honour and praises to the Lord, for He is only worthy! 

He didn’t glorify in himself:

                                 “O My steadfast prayer did this!”,  
                                  “I moved the God of heaven through my fasting”, 
but he said 
                                  "It is the Lord in His mercies did this”.

Yes, dear sisters, what are we glorifying in? 
Are we giving the glory to “our prayers, our fasting, our giving, our noble deeds”  for the victories in our lives? 
Then we are no better than Nebuchadnezzar who gave the glory to his mighty power in building the palace:

Daniel 4:29-30At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

Later Nebuchadnezzar undergoing grass therapy (Daniel 4:33), he lifted up his eyes towards heaven, blessed the Most High giving Him praises and honour and was restored. 

May we also dear sisters like Nehemiah, attribute all the glories and praises to our Lord for all the good things in our lives, for He alone is Worthy!!

Nehemiah's Arrow Prayers

Nehemiah 2:4-5Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.”

Nehemiah after 4 months of tarrying at the Lord’s feet, got noticed by the king.  The king asked what can he do for Nehemiah but before answering the king, Nehemiah prayed a quick and silent prayer. It occurred between the time that the king asked a question and Nehemiah delivered his answer. You don’t want to keep the king waiting! 

Some people call this an “arrow” prayer. You only have enough time to shoot up one arrow. Arrow prayers are quick short sentence prayers asking for God’s help while we’re in the middle of a crisis, problem or daily activity.

I personally have always felt how powerful these arrow prayers are, how these arrow prayers put things into perspective.  

Anxiety begins with a single anxious thought in our heart. We wait for this anxious thought to take root, to grow, to get us anxious and then we pray to overcome anxiety. Instead, if we shot up an arrow prayer, when we sense a small disturbance in our heart, it would have brought a deliverance to the soul and saved us a good amount of time and energy.

If we shoot up an arrow prayer, as our foot is slipping, Lord’s steadfast love will hold us up. 
If we shoot up an arrow prayer, as the cares of our heart are growing, His consolation will cheer our soul.  

Psalms 94:18-19When I thought, “My foot slips,”your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.When the cares of my heart are many,your consolations cheer my soul.

May we make all our thoughts into prayers - troubling thoughts into arrow prayers and all our joyful thoughts into arrow praises, this will not only help us to remain connected with the Lord but also bring a great deliverance to the soul.

Pray for people in authority

Nehemiah 2:4The king said to me, “What is it you want?”

This was the turning point, answer to Nehemiah’s 4 months of fervent prayers! The king instead of shouting at Nehemiah “Cut off his head!”, kindly asked “What do you want me to do?”.  This was an exact answer to Nehemiah’s prayer:

Please help me now as I go in and ask the king for a great favour: put it into his heart to be kind to me. Nehemiah 1:11

What an unbelievable and amazing transformation that the Lord wrought in the king’s heart! 

Proverbs 21:1In the Lord’s hand the king’s heart is a stream of water that he channels toward all who please him.

Nehemiah, knowing that the king has stopped the construction of the city, did not pray a prayer of vengeance, “O Lord, topple down this king and his kingdom”, but he prayed a prayer of love, for change of heart!

Sisters, we might live under unjust rulers, hard bosses, problematic clients, how do we pray for them? Are we praying this prayer of love over their hearts or just complaining about them in prayers? 

All the authorities above us are ordained and established by the Lord Himself (Romans 13:1) and when we speak, rebel or complain against them, we speak/rebel against whom God has instituted them (Romans 13:2). 

1 Timothy 2:1-4I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

Pray for their hearts, for God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Make it a habit to pray for your bosses, authorities, colleagues and customers this prayer of love & witness the amazing transformation that God brings in their hearts and the peace you will have in your hearts!! 

Nehemiah’s boldness to speak out!

 

I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Neh 2:3

For Jews, Jerusalem was more than just another place to live. The city of Jerusalem was the symbol of God’s power and authority. Jerusalem was the place of the presence of God, where God’s glory and power manifested. The very presence of God with the people of Judah, which melted the hearts of the enemies (Josh 2:11), now had become an object of ridicule.

All who pass your way
    clap their hands at you;
they scoff and shake their heads
    at Daughter Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
    the perfection of beauty,
    the joy of the whole earth?”

All your enemies open their mouths
    wide against you;
they scoff and gnash their teeth
    and say, “We have swallowed her up.
This is the day we have waited for;
    we have lived to see it.” Lam 2:15,16

This reproach on God and His people were burning like a fire in Nehemiah’s heart. The zeal for God’s glory was consuming him. This pushed him to speak out, even after knowing that the king Artaxerxes himself has stopped the reconstruction of the city (Ezra 4:18-22) and it could cost his life to speak out. He was not afraid of the king who could kill his body, since he had the reverential fear of the One who could destroy both body and the soul in the hell (Matthew 10:28).

How bold are we to speak out for the Lord?

Do we have the courage to confess that He is the Savior, He is the Lord of our life,  before men, in our workplace, before our unbelieving friends?

Paul says that it is the love of Christ compels, urges and impels him not to live for himself but to live for Him who died for us!! (2 Corinthians 5:14,15) May this love of Christ, who died for us when we were yet sinners, compel us, urge us and impel us to confess Him before men!!

Matthew 10:32-33
Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.

“கிறிஸ்துவினுடைய அன்பு எங்களை நெருக்கி ஏவுகிறது;”
‭‭2 கொரிந்தியர்‬ ‭5:14

Be Thoughtful

Nehemiah 2:1-2In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

The king was so thoughtful that he saw a difference with Nehemiah, he sensed a sadness in him and inquired after him. A gentile king was so thoughtful upon his servant, how thoughtful our loving Father would be upon us!! Even our loving Father pays attention to our emotions - sadness, bitterness, our fear and inquires after us. Apostle Peter calls Him the Lord who cares and in Tamil, it is beautifully written:

அவர் உங்களை விசாரிக்கிறவரானபடியால், உங்கள் கவலைகளையெல்லாம் அவர்மேல் வைத்துவிடுங்கள்.
‭‭1 பேதுரு‬ 5:7‬

அவர் நம்மை விசாரிக்கிற தேவன்!!

Yes, the Lord who inquires after us! The Lord who checks on our well being!!

Jesus checks on Mary Magdalene in her tears (John 20:15)
Our Lord checks on Cain in his anger (Gen 4:5,6)
Our Lord checks on Elijah in his discouragement (1 King 19:9)
Jesus checks  on Paul’s hardened heart (Act 9:4)
Jesus stopped by the fig tree to speak with Zacchaeus (Luke 19)
He stopped by the well to listen to the Samaritan woman. (John 4)
Our Lord remembered Hannah, He remembered Noah, remembered Cornelius!

Yes, He remembers and pays individual attention to His children.

Hence Psalmist sings praises to the Lord being amazed at the mindfulness of our Lord:

Psalms 8:3-4When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?

As our Lord is mindful of us, pays individual attention to us and inquires after us, we are called to do the same to the precious souls that He has placed in our lives. We are called to be mindful of, pay individual attention to and inquire after the people around us. We never know how many Naomis, Hannahs, Samaritan women around us, go un-cared of, unless we stop by in our busy lives, and pay individual attention to them.

Joseph, in his sad, unjust prison life, stopped by, paid attention to and inquired after his fellow prisoners:

Genesis 40:7
So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody with him in his master’s house, ”Why do you look so sad today?”

And we know, how through his mindful act, God accomplished His purpose. May we not lay our busyness, our sadness, our troubles as excuses to stop by, to pay attention to the souls in our lives.

Praying Through Nehemiah Chapter -1

"Lord, help us that we May not be just hearers of the Words but be the doers of it. As we read and meditate upon chapter-1 Lord, pls work mightily in our hearts that we bear 100 fold fruits to the seeds that are sown."

Nehemiah 1:1
The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem.

"May we be like the parents of Nehemiah, in this ungodly world,pray and teach Your laws to our children day and night! May we not give up nor grow weary in doing so. May we trust and believe that when we do so, we will reap the harvest in dew time"

Nehemiah 1:3
And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

"Bless us with Your heart of compassion Lord, when we see people, family and churches with broken walls, may we be moved with compassion. O Spirit of love, fill our hearts with burning love for the lost souls. Help us not to sit idle in our comfort zone, when souls are rushing to hell"

Nehemiah 1:4
As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

"May our prayers be not centred around ‘i’, ‘me’ and ‘my’ o Lord but for the precious souls you have placed around us. Help us to weep day and night before You Lord, that our loved ones and our people might not lose their eternal life with You! May our eyes be fountains of tears for the dying people whom you have placed in our lives!"

Nehemiah 1:5
And 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,"

"Help us o Lord, in our despair, not to forget that You are the Great, mighty deliverer and Awesome God, the God of all impossibilities and nothing is difficult for you! When we wonder at Your greatness, may we also not forget that You are a loving God, who is faithful in His words, who take pity on us, who walk with us in our troubles”

Nehemiah 1:7
We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

"Help us O Lord, to humble ourselves in your presence that we will regret not only for our sins, but also for the sins of who sin against us! Help us to be like You, who took the first step of reconciliation, when we were yet sinners!"

Nehemiah 1:8-9
Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’

"Help us O Lord, to diligently study Your words day and night, to store it in my heart, that I will be warned when I go wrong and I will be encouraged by your precious promises when I am in troubles. May your promises be the anchor and the solid rock that I stand on, that I will hold on to it tightly and pray it back to you in need"

Nehemiah 1:10-11
They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cup bearer to the king.

"Help me to remember that, I am very often, the answers of my own prayers. help me not to wait for someone else to come, instead wait upon you and go with the strength you give. At the same time, help me not to think I am the only one, who remain faithful nor I am the only one who prays fervently, but look at the 7000 knees, the Holy remnant of people whom you have everywhere in this world"

"O Lord, May I be a woman of integrity, like Nehemiah a who won his king’s trust even in exile. Help me to see, whatever I do as a worship to You Lord and be faithful even in the smaller things of my life. Let me not to forget that when I am faithful in little, I can be trusted with much”

As we move on to the next chapters, O Lord, keep speaking with us, encourage us, warn us, transform us, build us up, in the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen!!

Nehemiah - a man of integrity

I was cup bearer to the king (Neh 1:11)

Kings in those days were afraid of their enemies trying to poison them. So, they had the cup-bearer to taste the wine first before it was given to them. Nehemiah’s job was to taste the wine that the king drank.

Obviously, such a man would have to be an absolutely loyal and incorruptible man. It’s so amazing that the Persian king chose such a loyal person not from his own people, but from the exiled Jews. This shows how Nehemiah was an absolutely faithful person! His faithfulness and loyalty made him a honourable and useful vessel in the hands of the Lord.

We, God’s Children,are called to be faithful in whatever we do, however smaller or bigger the task may be. Very often we consider Bible reading, praying, worshipping as spiritual life and the work we do as our secular life. But God doesn’t see so. For Our God, Washing vessels faithfully is as important as worshipping Him in the church. The work we do is a worship to the Lord. Our whole life is to be a living sacrifice to God.

May we be like Nehemiah, see our secular work as a worship to God and be faithful in all the things we do. God calls us first to be faithful then to be successful.

"The shop, the barn, the kitchen, and the workbench become temples when men and women do all to the glory of God! Then divine service does not take place for a few hours and in a few places, but all life becomes holiness to the Lord, and every place and thing as consecrated as the tabernacle and its contents.”

whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:31‬