Taking A Step In God's Plan Series

Taking the First Step in God’s Plan

So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20)

Nehemiah chapter 2 tells us that the good hand of our God was upon Nehemiah. God had put in his heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. God protected his journey to Jerusalem, gave him favor from the king Artazerxes, and we can see how God helped him to overcome many obstacles. But in order for God to move obstacles in our life, we must be able to take the first step.

The reason why many people sit around and complain about broken down walls, instead of rebuilding them, is because they are unwilling to take the first step. Remember you can never take the second step until you take the first step.

Nehemiah demonstrates for us the four steps that guarantee success.

I. Step Back And Wait

"And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king." (Nehemiah 2:1)

If you go back to Nehemiah 1:1, "It came to pass in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year." Now Chislev is November. Nisan is March. Nehemiah had been praying to the Lord for 4 months. Some people may think it is a great deal if they pray for only four minutes. Yet for four months, day and night, without talking to anyone else, Nehemiah had been praying about this problem to the Lord. Praying and waiting.

That is a very difficult lesson for us to learn because praying and waiting goes hand in hand. I want you to remember that waiting time is never wasting time. Many times the first thing you need to do when you face a problem is simply talk to the Lord and wait. I know it is tough to wait in our microwave culture. We live in an "instant" world. We have everything from instant coffee to instant mashed potatoes to instant delivery. The modern day life has one speed—FAST!

One of the things you need to learn about God is this - God puts a premium on patience. He wants us to wait and trust Him until He tells us exactly what we need to do about a problem. Because God wants us to get on HIS timetable. Nehemiah knew what God had called him to do and that was to rebuild the walls, but he had no clue how God would do it or when God would do it. He just had to pray and wait. God wants to teach us how to wait, because when God forces us to wait, He is building into us things like patience, perseverance, persistence and faith. "Whoever believes will not act hastily." (Isaiah 28:16)

Haste makes waste. The first step you need to take whenever you face broken down walls is simply to step back and wait for God.

II. Step Up And Ask

"And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.' So I became dreadfully afraid." (Nehemiah 2:1-2)

One of the reasons why I love Nehemiah is that he is so transparent. In chapter 1, we see a Nehemiah of faith. Now we see a Nehemiah of fear. He had carried this burden for four months and for four months he had not complained. He had stayed faithful in his duties. He just went about his business, but the burden of God's call on his life had gotten heavier and heavier.

When Nehemiah shared his burden with the king, he got the shock of his life. "Then the king said to me, ''What do you request?" (Nehemiah 2:4) On hearing this from the king, Nehemiah utilized one of the greatest weapons of a Christian. Listen to this next statement. "So I prayed to the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 2: 4)

Nehemiah had prayed, but he had also planned. "Furthermore I said to the king, ‘"If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.' And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me." (Nehemiah 2: 7-8)