Facing Life's Challenges

In other words, when we will come to know and understand, that we are not the only one’s dealing with something. If we live long enough, and the right situation presents itself, we would appreciate it, if someone expressed concern toward us.

The news of how terrible the city looked and how bad life was saddened him, it brought tears to his eyes, and he mourned for certain days. But even in the midst of his sadness, I can imagine in my mind, how he processed what he heard. He could have ignored it, and turned his ear away from it, but he imagined the possibility of restoration. He wanted something better for someone else. He had a connection to it, because it was a part of who he was. He sacrificed his personal desires for the sake of something greater than himself. It was not even his own personal challenge to deal with, but he took it upon himself. The sacrifice that he made came thru FASTING and PRAYER. And I’m not talking about just praying and giving up something 1 or 2 times. It may take a long period of time, possibly months, before we see the hand of God at work. That’s another point out of the text, for us to grab hold of. If we want to see God move on some things, we too are going to have to sacrifice something. Our time, our talents, our resources, ourselves. Then MAYBE, Just MAYBE, God will see that we are serious about whatever it is, we’re challenged with and what we’re trying to do to make it better. That has to be our first course of action. We can’t just dive head first into a challenge without , FASTING AND PRAYING, SEEKING GOD, and SELF SACRIFICE. Otherwise, CHANCES for a productive outcome may be unfavorable.

As Nehemiah fast and prays, he goes before the Lord with total allegiance to Him. The king was held great authority, and he was the person on earth that he served in the palace, but he could never compare to the Almighty God. He was reminded of the fact that God is a covenant keeper and extends MERCY to them that love him. In my mind, I wondered why is he praying for MERCY, until I looked closer into the text. I hope you see this in verse 6. He seeks MERCY, because of the sins of the children of Israel. As he seeks MERCY, he confesses the sins of his ancestors, as well as his own. For most of us, the idea of would be unheard of. It would have been so much easier for him to point the finger at the sinful acts of his ancestors. They are guilty and should have to answer to God.

It wasn’t him, so why should he take it upon himself to confess a sin that he did not commit? It makes you think doesn’t it! When we get to the point of seeking God thru confession and repentance, then we may have addressed the challenge at the root. It’s so much easier to focus on problems, but what is the solution. The solution is to make things right before the Lord. Confess that which is wrong. Include ourselves in it, rather than cast blame. Simply take OWNERSHIP. If nothing else, Nehemiah was an extension of his ancestors, just as it is with all of us. By nature, HE HAD and WE HAVE an INCLINATION to sin, and to do our own thing apart from God. No one is exempt. So Nehemiah confessed HIS sins, and the sins of his father’s house.