Nehemiah - Success on God's Terms
A quote I carry around in my pocket at work says the following:
“Each of us must write our own definitions for success, prosperity, and achievement. The wise individual will seek the Lord’s perspective and will prioritize accordingly.”
Nehemiah is someone I would consider as having lived life successfully. Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the king, walked away from a life of comfort, recognition, power and prestige to return to his fractured homeland, facing opposition and discouragement. He grabbed onto God’s vision to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem and went into action whole heartedly putting his blood, sweat and tears into rebuilding the walls.
Nehemiah lived life from an eternal perspective. He did incredible things at the cost of great personal sacrifice. His life was not about serving himself or his comfort, but about serving God wholeheartedly. When he heard about the distress of his fellow Jews that had survived and remained in Jerusalem and that the walls were broken down leaving them defenseless, he was greatly distressed and moved with compassion.
Nehemiah allowed himself to be broken for God’s people and purposes. Nehemiah 1:4 says that when he heard about the situation in Jerusalem, he sat down and wept and mourned for days. He fasted and prayed before God. However, he not only mourned about it, he then took action and did something about it. He took the burden further than just being emotionally moved and he allowed God to use him as an instrument to bring about His justice.
As I was reading the chapter called “Suffering” from Leap Over a Wall by Eugene Peterson, I made note of a comment made by the author that stuck with me. It says about David relating to the relationship with his son Absalom, “As he became less compassionate with those around him, he became less passionate with the God within him.” I think the opposite of this is also true – as one allows themselves to become more moved to action by compassion for those around him, they become more passionate about the God within them.
As Eugene Peterson notes, quoting von Hugel, “Caring is the greatest thing.” Loving God and loving others cannot be separated. To grow in one, we must also grow in the other. We are called to passionately love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors with the same godly passion. Eugene Peterson writes about David, “He cared about others with the same passion with which he came before God.”
As Eugene also notes, we often fall short of loving our neighbor. We stop with mere sentiment and fail move into action. Our hearts break, we pray and intercede and we might even give a little money, but then go on with our day to day lives. We do not take action and allow God to use us as instruments of His justice. This was the difference with Nehemiah, he prayed, interceded and then took action.
How does all of this apply to my own life?
I need to “put my hand to what my heart prompts” as my pastor would say. I need to not only be moved with compassion to sympathy or giving money, but I need to be moved to action. Sometimes I think, “unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vein” means that we should not take the initiative. However, if I wait around for someone else to create an opportunity for me and tell me exactly what to do, I may miss God’s divine opportunities. I need to realize that the burdens God gives to me are not just for prayer and/or giving, but they may include call to action and service.
I need to be less concerned about failing and, with an eternal perspective, be willing to step out in faith. Sometimes I have a tendency to shrink back from taking action because I don’t know what to do or how to help. I figure I can pray and/or give and support the people who do know what they are doing while I stand on the sidelines. Honestly, I think this is more about my comfortability and fear of failure than it is about serving God in secret. As I have mentioned prior papers, faithfulness, as my pastor David Johnson defines it is “an eternal perspective that produces a freedom and fearlessness to live, love, and attempt things we otherwise wouldn’t – because even if we lose, we win.” Even if I fail in my attempts to step out and be a part of the solution to the burdens God places on my heart, I win if I am stepping out in faithfulness to God. I am better off living in freedom and fearlessness and making mistakes than not really living at all.
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” (Romans 8:15, MSG)
Loving God means loving others. I need to care as passionately for other people as I do for God. John Ortberg writes in his book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, that the real issue is the kind of people we are becoming. He notes, “I suspect that if someone had asked the apostle Paul or the apostle John about his spiritual life, his first question would have been, ‘Am I growing in love for God and people?’” I need to take time for people just as I take time for God. Sometimes I rush ahead with people just because I want to get home and spend some more time with God – reading his Word and speaking with Him.
I need to learn more how to hear from Him in other people, how to see Him, and how to respond with love, compassion, and/or correction in a way that gives witness to what God is doing – encouraging it and strengthening it. I need to recognize the burning bushes in my life in the midst of ordinary people and ordinary circumstances.
Rather than worry so much about where I want to get to and where I want to be at the moment, I need to wait upon God. As John Ortberg notes, our task isn’t so much about taking over and running things efficiently as much as it is about entering into what God is doing and giving witness to that. I need to worry less about being in control and spend my more of my energy on entering into what God is doing at the moment.
When I can let go of myself being the center of the universe and the center of Gods attention, and genuinely enter into what he is doing in other’s lives, I will become an instrument of change in the world for his eternal purposes. This is what David did. He saw all that was around him that God was working and he embraced it fully – even when it caused him pain or suffering. He never ran or became obstinate expecting something better – he took whatever was from God’s hand and used it to glorify him.
Words ring in my ears that I heard years ago from Steven Covey, the fruit “love” is the result of the verb “love.” In other words, it is the action of love that creates the feeling of love and not the other way around. If you want to love someone, you love someone and eventually the feelings will come. “For where your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will be also” (Matthew 6:21). In other words, where ever you invest your resources of your time, energy and money, your heart will follow.
Sometimes I spend too much of my resources on God loving me rather than me loving God. I am too concerned about what He is doing for me, in my life, and for my spiritual growth. Rather than investing my resources and attention on myself, my agenda, what God is doing in my life and my own spiritual growth, I need to invest it in others. Loving others is loving God. By investing my time and energy in His Kingdom and what he is doing in others lives, I am investing in my relationship with Him.
“Each of us must write our own definitions for success, prosperity, and achievement. The wise individual will seek the Lord’s perspective and will prioritize accordingly.”
Nehemiah is someone I would consider as having lived life successfully. Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the king, walked away from a life of comfort, recognition, power and prestige to return to his fractured homeland, facing opposition and discouragement. He grabbed onto God’s vision to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem and went into action whole heartedly putting his blood, sweat and tears into rebuilding the walls.
Nehemiah lived life from an eternal perspective. He did incredible things at the cost of great personal sacrifice. His life was not about serving himself or his comfort, but about serving God wholeheartedly. When he heard about the distress of his fellow Jews that had survived and remained in Jerusalem and that the walls were broken down leaving them defenseless, he was greatly distressed and moved with compassion.
Nehemiah allowed himself to be broken for God’s people and purposes. Nehemiah 1:4 says that when he heard about the situation in Jerusalem, he sat down and wept and mourned for days. He fasted and prayed before God. However, he not only mourned about it, he then took action and did something about it. He took the burden further than just being emotionally moved and he allowed God to use him as an instrument to bring about His justice.
As I was reading the chapter called “Suffering” from Leap Over a Wall by Eugene Peterson, I made note of a comment made by the author that stuck with me. It says about David relating to the relationship with his son Absalom, “As he became less compassionate with those around him, he became less passionate with the God within him.” I think the opposite of this is also true – as one allows themselves to become more moved to action by compassion for those around him, they become more passionate about the God within them.
As Eugene Peterson notes, quoting von Hugel, “Caring is the greatest thing.” Loving God and loving others cannot be separated. To grow in one, we must also grow in the other. We are called to passionately love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors with the same godly passion. Eugene Peterson writes about David, “He cared about others with the same passion with which he came before God.”
As Eugene also notes, we often fall short of loving our neighbor. We stop with mere sentiment and fail move into action. Our hearts break, we pray and intercede and we might even give a little money, but then go on with our day to day lives. We do not take action and allow God to use us as instruments of His justice. This was the difference with Nehemiah, he prayed, interceded and then took action.
How does all of this apply to my own life?
I need to “put my hand to what my heart prompts” as my pastor would say. I need to not only be moved with compassion to sympathy or giving money, but I need to be moved to action. Sometimes I think, “unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vein” means that we should not take the initiative. However, if I wait around for someone else to create an opportunity for me and tell me exactly what to do, I may miss God’s divine opportunities. I need to realize that the burdens God gives to me are not just for prayer and/or giving, but they may include call to action and service.
I need to be less concerned about failing and, with an eternal perspective, be willing to step out in faith. Sometimes I have a tendency to shrink back from taking action because I don’t know what to do or how to help. I figure I can pray and/or give and support the people who do know what they are doing while I stand on the sidelines. Honestly, I think this is more about my comfortability and fear of failure than it is about serving God in secret. As I have mentioned prior papers, faithfulness, as my pastor David Johnson defines it is “an eternal perspective that produces a freedom and fearlessness to live, love, and attempt things we otherwise wouldn’t – because even if we lose, we win.” Even if I fail in my attempts to step out and be a part of the solution to the burdens God places on my heart, I win if I am stepping out in faithfulness to God. I am better off living in freedom and fearlessness and making mistakes than not really living at all.
This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” (Romans 8:15, MSG)
Loving God means loving others. I need to care as passionately for other people as I do for God. John Ortberg writes in his book, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, that the real issue is the kind of people we are becoming. He notes, “I suspect that if someone had asked the apostle Paul or the apostle John about his spiritual life, his first question would have been, ‘Am I growing in love for God and people?’” I need to take time for people just as I take time for God. Sometimes I rush ahead with people just because I want to get home and spend some more time with God – reading his Word and speaking with Him.
I need to learn more how to hear from Him in other people, how to see Him, and how to respond with love, compassion, and/or correction in a way that gives witness to what God is doing – encouraging it and strengthening it. I need to recognize the burning bushes in my life in the midst of ordinary people and ordinary circumstances.
Rather than worry so much about where I want to get to and where I want to be at the moment, I need to wait upon God. As John Ortberg notes, our task isn’t so much about taking over and running things efficiently as much as it is about entering into what God is doing and giving witness to that. I need to worry less about being in control and spend my more of my energy on entering into what God is doing at the moment.
When I can let go of myself being the center of the universe and the center of Gods attention, and genuinely enter into what he is doing in other’s lives, I will become an instrument of change in the world for his eternal purposes. This is what David did. He saw all that was around him that God was working and he embraced it fully – even when it caused him pain or suffering. He never ran or became obstinate expecting something better – he took whatever was from God’s hand and used it to glorify him.
Words ring in my ears that I heard years ago from Steven Covey, the fruit “love” is the result of the verb “love.” In other words, it is the action of love that creates the feeling of love and not the other way around. If you want to love someone, you love someone and eventually the feelings will come. “For where your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will be also” (Matthew 6:21). In other words, where ever you invest your resources of your time, energy and money, your heart will follow.
Sometimes I spend too much of my resources on God loving me rather than me loving God. I am too concerned about what He is doing for me, in my life, and for my spiritual growth. Rather than investing my resources and attention on myself, my agenda, what God is doing in my life and my own spiritual growth, I need to invest it in others. Loving others is loving God. By investing my time and energy in His Kingdom and what he is doing in others lives, I am investing in my relationship with Him.
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