Facing Life’s Challenges
Nehemiah 1: 4-6
Most of us right now, are consumed with enormous challenges in our personal lives. We may appear to live carefree lives, and we look good on the outside, but on the inside, we are consumed with dealing with this over here and that over there, and it seems like there is no resolution to be found in the other. Collectively, we have health challenges. Family Challenges. Unexpected challenges. Challenges of uncertainty. Political challenges. Not knowing which direction our country is headed next. Challenges of an unjust, criminal justice system, who justifies targeting unarmed teens, in other words, there is a challenge of being a human being. The challenge of being arrested for no reason, and the questionable, mysterious murders of innocent people, because of personal choice. Today, as we come face to face with challenges, I want us to look deep, beneath the surface and look to the POSSIBILITY, brighter days up ahead. In life, there are situations on every hand that presents us with a challenge, but God already knows the outcome. Perhaps He wants us to reveal to us the extent of our faith. Maybe He wants to prove to us, if the faith we say we have, is it really real. For too long, we’ve done a lot of talking, but are we willing to put some action behind it. God in His infinite wisdom has a greater plan than what we can see right now. A plan designed to challenge us. A plan specifically designed to grow us up in Him. A plan that makes each of us aware that we too have a SPIRIT OF TENACITY like Nehemiah. A SPIRIT, that doesn’t give up easily, a SPIRIT that will go the distance in the face of a challenge.
Nehemiah faced a challenge, and his witness laid a foundation, not only to build upon, but he laid before us a springboard, so that we too can rebound in facing life’s challenges. Is it easy? No, it’s not. But’s not about GIVING UP It’s about GIVING IN and trusting God. In the text, we find that Nehemiah is a cupbearer. One who was a loyal and trustworthy servant to the king. He knows his history and the disobedience, of his ancestors. And he knows that because of his ancestor’s disobedience, they were lead into Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Over a period of time and under the leadership of Cyrus, King of Persia, the remnant, being those who lived thru it, they were finally allowed to return to Jerusalem, IF they chose. They were going home to rebuild.
If you remember that back in 2 Chronicles 36, the people HAD GOTTEN OUT OF HAND. they mocked God’s messengers, despised God’s word, and misused the prophets, they thought they GOT AWAY with it, UNTIL, the WRATH of the Lord rose up AGAINST them. The house of God was burnt down, broke down the wall, and the land was desolate. Countless people died, while others were carried off and held captive in Babylon. Nehemiah was one of the one’s who chose NOT to go back. The remnant rebuilt the temple, during the days of Ezra. SO NOW, the people had a temple, that was COMPLETED and DEDICATED to the Lord, in (Ezra Chapter 6) but they were living their lives in the midst of the unsightly, unprotected, devastating destruction of the gates and wall of Jerusalem.
In our text for the morning, on this particular occasion, Nehemiah, has a conversation with one of his brethren, and he inquires about how life is in Jerusalem. What’s it looking like and how are they doing,? Years later, he chose not to return, but he was concerned. Why should he even concern himself with what’s going on? He’s evidently living well. He serves in the king’s palace, and lives amongst the best of the best. He held an important position, while having more than enough responsibility in making sure that the king’s wine had not been tampered with. The king’s wine had better been of great quality, taste, and definitely not poisoned. So why was Nehemiah inquisitive? It is safe to conclude, that he had genuine concern. So often we inquire about situations, and our response at times is just an indication that we really don’t care one way or the other, instead we’re just being nosy. But Nehemiah’s concern was authentic. He wanted to know the condition and welfare of God’s people in the city. He was in position to make the situation better. In facing life’s challenges hopefully by now, we should have grown to the point in our walk with the Lord, that we better understand how life presents challenges to everybody, and not just us. If another is facing a challenge, if you can, do what you can, to make the situation better. HAVE CONCERN FOR SOMEBODY OR SOMETHING GREATER THAN OURSELVES.
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.
One of the most prominent challenges that we face, is that we need to confess. We need to come before the Lord, confessing our sins. Each of us has missed the mark, and we’ve come up short. Imagine if we took personal responsibility upon ourselves in humility before the Lord. I’m not talking about necessarily doing so in a public forum, but instead in our private time, alone with God, in that secret place. A place where our confessions are be made, in order to obtain right standing and right relationship with the Lord.
Just as it was with Nehemiah, He was:
Concerned, He Fasted and Prayed, He remembered God’s promise of mercy to them that love Him, He confessed the sins of his ancestors as well as his own, but he can’t stop there. He has the ASSURANCE that God had inclined his ear. He had the ASSURANCE that God sees the situation. He had the ASSURANCE that God is a COVENANT KEEPING GOD. He then makes a COMMITMENT before God to rebuild the wall. But his next step is to go before the king when God open up an opportunity for him to express his concern.
But in the meantime, He will continue to fast and pray, not matter how long it takes, continue to confess his sins and the sins of his people, seek God’s mercy, remember God’s promise, and stand strong in his commitment, because it would be a challenge. Nehemiah left us an example to follow because challenges will come, and other challenges will come after that. We can’t get around them. but the stage has been set, with a greater purpose than what we can see right now.
In the midst of our challenges, the message motivates us. In our relationship with God, despite whatever the challenge may be, we will not become STAGNANT in it. We will not grow WEARY because of it. We will PERSERVERE thru it. And “IF” we can make a personal commitment, even a church COMMITMENT to what our CONCERNS are: thru fasting, prayer, and confession of sin, and the mercy of God, we can persevere thru the challenges we face, and OVERCOME.
