Joining Jesus – 29th March 2019

2. Give up!

The words of Nehemiah son of Hakaliah:

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:

“LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

I was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah 1:1-11

Do you ever look at all the things that are happening in the world and think about how it could be reached with the good news? If you do, how do you feel as you think about ways that this might happen? Do you feel a deep sense of optimism, or a crushing sense of pessimism? Does the task seem impossible?

When Nehemiah heard about the things that were happening in his world, he ‘gave up’, but not perhaps in the way we might think:

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

The things he heard could have filled him with despair, he was told that:

“Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”

What a mess! How on earth could such a situation be improved!

So, Nehemiah GAVE UP to SELF. Rather than focusing on his inability to do something about what seemed an impossible situation, he focused on God, the God who we know, as Christians, is able to do far more abundantly more than we can ask or imagine.

Nehemiah realized something that many us fail to see, ‘With God nothing is impossible’ and if the mess is ever to sorted out there is no sense us relying on our ability to solve it because we can’t BUT God can!

Nehemiah put himself into a place where He could see things from God’s perspective, not his own. To do this, he wept, mourned, fasted and prayed!

As you consider the great challenge of seeing your street, city, or nation changed, I encourage you, like Nehemiah, to GIVE UP! Not by focusing on your inability and therefore doing nothing but by putting yourself in a place where you will see what Nehemiah saw:

“LORD, the God of heaven, the GREAT and AWESOME God…………