How strong is your faith? Is it firm enough to resist hardship? Is it robust enough to overcome fear? Will it stand up to the tests of doubt? Last week, we saw that Nehemiah was a man of great faith: the cupbearer to Artaxerxes, the King of Persia, he was devastated by the news that Jerusalem was still in a state of ruin and its people were in a poor state; but, in response, he mourned, fasted and prayed, interceding for his home country, which he himself had probably never seen, as he’d been born in exile.
This week, we see Nehemiah, the man of faith, take the next step in his God-given mission; and the first thing that is clear is that ...
>> FAITH PROMPTS PATIENCE
In chapter 1, Nehemiah prays, "Listen now to my prayer and to the prayers of all your other servants who want to honour you. Give me success today and make the emperor merciful to me." And, then, chapter 2 begins, "One day four months later..." — Nehemiah has prayed that same "Give me success today" prayer every day for four months! That’s over 100 days! As I said last week, Nehemiah was committed to prayer, and it’s clear he was also committed to God’s response – I get the impression that Nehemiah was a man of action and was really itching to go to Jerusalem to get started on rebuilding the city walls, but he knew that he would have to wait for the right opportunity to speak to the king. If he brought up the subject at the wrong time, Artaxerxes would refuse his request, and possibly even have him executed for his impertinence. Nehemiah had faith that God would provide the perfect opportunity, if he would patiently wait for it.
After so many days without an opportunity, Nehemiah must have felt a little frustrated, but the enforced wait would have at least allowed him to work out what he would say to the king when he could speak with him, and his time spent in prayer would have strengthened him. We ourselves may feel a deep sense of frustration when things don’t happen as quickly as we would like them to, especially when we have been praying long and hard for something; but we, too, need to accept that "behind life’s frustrations lies a divine purpose; [that] something can be learnt from our most difficult experiences" [Raymond Brown, ’The Message of Nehemiah’, p.44]. Just remember William Carey’s experience in India: for seven years he preached sermons and cultivated friendships with the local people before anyone gave their life to Christ; but he never regretted the wait, because, during that time, he and his colleagues had managed to produce the New Testament in Bengali and to set up both a boarding-school and a free school.
And, just as Carey’s faith was finally rewarded, Nehemiah’s opportunity presented itself at last. It has been suggested that this particular day, which was at the beginning of the new year, may well have been Artaxerxes’ birthday, an occasion when the Persian king would grant special favours. Whether this is true, or not, it is clear that Nehemiah, like William Carey, had a faith which prompted patience in the most frustrating of situations – may our faith be strong enough to do likewise.
The next thing we observe is that ...
>> FAITH PROMPTS PLUCK
Pluck may be a word we don’t use too often these days, but we do still sometimes describe people as being "plucky" when they are courageous and spirited. One thing is certain: Nehemiah showed great pluck when he opened his mouth to tell Artaxerxes what was making him so sad.
Nehemiah no longer hid his unhappiness – Jerusalem was still in ruins and God was still dishonoured by it – but this, in itself, was a dangerous thing. If, indeed, it was the king’s birthday, everybody would have been expected to walk round with an unshifting smile upon their face – Nehemiah’s miserable mug must have stood out a mile! Anyway, we’re told that the king had never seen Nehemiah look sad before, so he asks him why it is. We’re told that Nehemiah was "startled" – the Hebrew literally says, "a terrible fear came over me". Was it fear for his life? Or, was it fear of rejection? We don’t really know the exact reason why he was so afraid, but we do know that Nehemiah spoke up in spite of his fear – his faith in God gave him the courage, the pluck, to tell the king what was on his heart.
And the king is touched when Nehemiah speaks of the state of "the city where [his] ancestors are buried", because the Persians revered their own ancestors and were anxious to ensure that their graves were honouring to them. So, Nehemiah’s pluckiness is rewarded, when Artaxerxes asks him what is his request.
It is likely that, at one time or another, each of us will be put on the spot by someone, and will have to decide whether to speak up for the Lord, or to remain silent. Sadly, there is a real danger in those situations that we remain silent because, although we know what we want to say, we don’t quite know how to say it. Like Nehemiah, we need faith which is strong enough to give us the courage to open our mouths, for, if we do, God will do the rest – as Jesus taught His disciples: "when the time comes, you will be given what you will say. For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." Be assured: faith prompts pluck, and God will work through our pluckiness.
And it’s also true to say that ...
>> FAITH PROMPTS PRAYER
Yes, I know I talked about this last week; and, yes, I’m also going to talk about it briefly again this week – because it’s IMPORTANT!
In chapter 1, we saw Nehemiah on his knees over an extended period of time; here, in chapter 2, he tells us: "I prayed to the God of Heaven, and then I said... ." Now, there’s no way that Nehemiah had chance to get on his knees and have a lengthy prayer time – the king has asked him a question and expects an immediate reply. So, Nehemiah’s prayer is one of those ’arrow’ prayers that you shoot up to God in a split second – something like, "Please help me, God." The lesson here is: pray on every occasion and in every circumstance because God hears your prayers, however long or short they are – remember, it should be our natural instinct to pray. Indeed, Nehemiah could shoot that arrow prayer up to heaven with particular confidence, precisely because of his existing relationship with God.
So, faith prompts prayer, and prayer reflects faith.
But, in addition, we observe in chapter 2 that ...
>> FAITH PROMPTS PLANNING
Nehemiah has had four months to pray and seek God’s guidance, and, out of that time, has emerged a plan of action. When he talks to Artaxerxes, the words he speaks articulate that plan of action; they strike an emotional chord in the king’s heart; and they are very diplomatic. As I said before, Nehemiah’s request appeals directly to the Persian conviction that ancestors should be honoured in death; but, also, notice how he initially leaves out any direct mention of the name of Jerusalem, because the king had previously ordered the rebuilding of the city to be halted and Nehemiah didn’t want his project to be vetoed. In those long periods of prayer and fasting, God had enabled Nehemiah to plan a way of gaining the king’s favour; and it worked beautifully, because all Artaxerxes asks is "How long will you be gone...?"
We can detect that Nehemiah’s confidence has grown, because, without hesitation, he asks the king for letters to the governors of the province to secure protection and to the royal forester, Asaph, to acquire timber for building. These are not spur of the moment requests, but are the result of months of prayerful planning.
It is much the same for the Church today: as we draw near to God in prayer, He equips us to plan the way ahead, and enables us to catch His vision for the future. And He does this by using our intellects, by guiding our deliberations, and by giving us dreams – then, together, as the Body of Christ, we discern His will. God created our brains, as well as our hearts, so we must be ready to use both in His service and for His glory – too often, we by-pass our brains and solely follow our hearts. But Nehemiah got the balance right, and we can clearly see how his faith prompted careful planning.
And, finally, we can see in this passage that ...
>> FAITH PROMPTS PRAISE
Artaxerxes gives the whole project the thumbs-up, and Nehemiah is careful to direct the praise to where it is due: "because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests", he says. He didn’t claim the credit for himself, because he knew it was all God’s doing: there was no other way that all this could have happened without God being in control. Indeed, Artaxerxes did even more than was asked, because we’re told that he also sent some army officers and a troop of horsemen with Nehemiah to assure his safety. God was worthy of Nehemiah’s praise, and he is worthy of our praise, too.
There are often occasions when so many different things come together for our good that it cannot be anything but God’s doing – it is not a coincidence, but a ’God-incidence’! We must never be too slow to praise God, and never too quick to accept glory for ourselves. If we stay close to God and safeguard our faith, we too will be people of praise, because it is faith that prompts praise.
Finally ...
In conclusion, then, perhaps this passage inspires us to evaluate whether our own faith is what we might call "Nehemiah faith"? :
Is our faith in God so strong that we wait patiently for His answer to our prayers?
Is that faith so strong that we are prepared to act courageously for Him, in spite of the risks?
Is our faith so strong that we are always happy to be prayerfully dependent upon Him?
Are we so close to God in faith that His plans become our plans?
Do we, through our faith, take every opportunity to praise and glorify the Lord?
If the answer to one or more of those questions is ’No’, then you know what you need to do: you need to get on your knees and ask the Lord to increase your faith. Let’s pray ...
Lord, we identify with the father of the boy with an evil spirit, who told you, "I do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more!" Today, Lord, help each one of us here to have more faith, for we believe you when you say, "Everything is possible for the person who has faith." Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Amen.
