October 20, 2010 (Nehemiah 6-13, Psalm 126)

It's hard for me to concentrate today - so much going on. But God is always faithful to point out a few 'tidbits'.

Just as Nehemiah did, so I am doing - 6:9 "So I prayed for strength to continue the work". Every day, God, help me to pray for Your strength and Your guidance to complete the work that is before me. Give me wisdom to know what to take on, and what to put aside.

Under Nehemiah's direction, the rebuilding of the wall was completed in just 52 days. Only God could have allowed that to happen so quickly as is evidenced by the following:

^6:16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

When choosing leaders this is a good thing to remember:

^7:2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.

And as Nehemiah prays to God, we see God rewards faithfulness, and God Himself is always faithful:

^9:7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram and brought him from Ur of the Chaldeans and renamed him Abraham. ⁸ When he had proved himself faithful, you made a covenant with him to give him and his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites. And you have done what you promised, for you are always true to your word.

And in Nehemiah 9, he reflects upon the sinful cycle of God's people - things go well, we forget God. God gets our attention, we repent, things go well, then we forget God.

²⁹ “You warned them to return to your Law, but they became proud and obstinate and disobeyed your commands. They did not follow your regulations, by which people will find life if only they obey. They stubbornly turned their backs on you and refused to listen. ³⁰ In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. ³¹ But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!