The Bible is full of them, from Moses all the way to Paul, every single one of them changed their world around them. I have many favourite stories in the Bible but the most amazing one I have read yet is about a man named Nehemiah. Nehemiah wasn’t a priest, prophet, warrior, or a king, he was simply a man that as bothered by something. The walls to Jerusalem had been broken down. How many of us have broken down walls? Our governments are sucky, we see families that fight everyday, there’s hunger in the world, poverty, abuse, the list goes on. Nehemiah was bothered that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down. The walls had been down for 140 years, that’s a long time. The Babylonians had come and taken over the Israelites and taken them into captivity into Babylon. God had told the Israelites that if they were too only worship Him he would make sure that no enemy would overcome them, but instead they turned from the Lord and God allowed Babylon to capture them. Soon after Babylon came in and took them Babylon, itself, was taken captive by Persia and the walls of Jerusalem had still remained down.
The Persian King had allowed some people to move back to Jerusalem, some had rebuilt the temple but no one touched the walls. It was embarrassing to see a city with it’s walls down, it was vulnerable. Now Nehemiah was no ordinary man in Persia, he was the cupbearer to the King. Which meant that whenever the King wanted to drink anything, Nehemiah was the man to serve him. Now if you have your bible, you can open it up to Nehemiah 1:1-4.
“The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: 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 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.”
When Nehemiah heard these things, the Bible says, he sat down and wept. How many of us after bad news sit down and weep? He had just heard that his people were in great trouble and disgrace and that Jerusalem was still destroyed. Now Nehemiah lived in comfort, he didn’t have anything to trouble him in Persia, he worked for the King and I’m assuming the King made sure he was well paid and well fed. He didn’t have a trouble in the world, but when he heard these news, he sat and wept. His heart was heavy at hearing of the suffering and chaos. A few months ago I came across a video of child soldiers, a documentary of what these children had to endure and what they were made to go through. About two minutes into the video I was crying, and I’m not just talking about a tear here and there, I’m talking about sobbing and snot coming out of nose. The video made my heart heavy, I’m guessing this is how Nehemiah had felt when he heard the news. A grown man, crying and sobbing, praying and fasting. What are some things that break your heart? Is it child abuse or neglect? Is it physical or sexual abuse? Famines and wars, the lack of drinkable water? Those are just a few to mention. I want you to think about something that breaks your heart, maybe it’s something happening in your home or in your city. Let it in, feel the pain, embrace that burden.
Maybe you’re thinking, I’m only one person, what can I possibly do to change something in my world or my home for that matter. Have you heard the phrase,“With God everything is possible”? Invoke the God of heaven, with God we always have the upper hand to change anything.
After Nehemiah cried, the Bible says, he fasted and prayed for some days. When we are faced with troubles in our lives or we see injustice in the world, how many of us kneel and pray and our first solution? Many of us don’t, we try and face these problems by ourselves, forgetting that there is a God in heaven that has already found a solution to your problem long before it was even existent. A man/ woman of God always puts everything into prayer, problem or not. Nehemiah didn’t even hesitate to pray. You may be facing some walls that are down right now, have you shared your burden with God? Have you knelt down and prayed to the only one who can help you through your problem?
After you’ve prayed for your problem it’s time to take a stand. Nehemiah had fasted and prayed for some days now, the next thing he did was go to the King of Persia. Nehemiah, according to scripture, was a happy man, he loved his job, he loved serving the King wine or water, whatever he drank. He loved his job. One day he went up to the King and the he noticed that his servant, Nehemiah, was sad.
In 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.” I was very much afraid, 3 but 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?” The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” -Nehemiah 2:1-5
Nehemiah took a stand, he had prayed, he had faith and now he went to the king asking for permission to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city. How many of us have taken a stand for what we believe in? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took a stand for what he believed in. William Wilberforce took a stand for what he believed in. Many people in history who were just ordinary people have taken a stand for their beliefs. Nehemiah had an, Someone has to do it, might as well me!, personality. There was many other problems in the world but Nehemiah chose this one. Remember, you can’t change everything, but you sure can change something.
Look around in the world, become an ordinary world changer. Governments are broken. Morales are broken. Churches are broken. Families are broken. Marriages are broken. Many live with no hope.
God specializes in using ordinary people to do extra ordinary things.
