Searching for God’s Plan · (Nehemiah 1: 4-6). The Book of Nehemiah provides many lessons for...

Searching for God’s Plan

Elvin Aycock

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Introduction

How Can We Know God’s Plan

and Purpose for Us?

This book is about searching for God’s plan and purpose for you and

me. Nehemiah discovered God’s plan for him. We will explore how

Nehemiah found God’s plan and how he searched for the meaning

and the methods of completing what God had given to him. Then,

we will see how Nehemiah went about executing God’s plan.

If you have searched for God’s plan and purpose for your life, you

will enjoy reading about Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a cushy life

tasting wine for the Emperor, Artaxerxes, living in the palace of the

Emperor and eating the food of the Emperor. Nehemiah had become

highly respected by the Emperor and served as cupbearer and

advisor to the Emperor.

God showed Nehemiah his plan: “Go to Jerusalem and rebuild the

walls around Jerusalem, for the people in Jerusalem are in

desperate need of the protection the wall will provide.”

What is God’s plan for you and what are the challenges you face

accomplishing what God has placed on your heart?

The Book of Nehemiah is filled with stories of spiritual growth by

overcoming obstacles life puts before us. If only we tap into Him.

The Spirit of God will guide and direct us in all that we do for the

Lord.

The key phrase is “in all that we do for the Lord.” This sometimes

requires a great deal of searching. Nehemiah prayed and fasted for

4 months after he knew what the Lord had called him to do. When

God’s timing was right, God’s plan began to fall in place.

This ebook is produced by www.AskGodForHelp.net. Visit us on our website for

more uplifting stories about Christian growth and about how God is always

available when we go to Him and ask for His help. “Whatever you ask in My

name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you

ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

http://www.askgodforhelp.net/


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Rebuilding Lives from Rubble

Part 1: Recognizing our need for dependence on God.

[“The survivors there in the province (Judah) who escaped captivity are

in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and

its gates have been destroyed by fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).]

This first time I studied the Book of Nehemiah, I was surprised to learn of the

many lessons in this book. Having facilitated the Disciple III class, Remember

Who You Are, I was familiar with the prophets and how God had used each of

the prophets to warn the Israelites to turn from their sins and disobedience to

God.

This is what I expected to read in Nehemiah. But, Nehemiah was not a

prophet. He was a priest living in the palace of King Artaxerxes in Persia.

Nehemiah was the King’s cupbearer and counselor. He had a comfortable,

easy life. He lived in the palace of the King, ate the same food as the King and

sampled the wine before serving it to the King.

At first read, the Book of

Nehemiah is about God’s task

given to Nehemiah to go to

Jerusalem to rebuild the walls

around Jerusalem. But as I studied

the Book of Nehemiah, I began to

see and understand a deeper

meaning. Not only was it about

rebuilding a physical wall but it

was about rebuilding broken lives.

This book speaks both to the new believer wanting to turn his life around as

well as the believer who has drifted away from God and wants to rebuild his

relationship with Christ.


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Step 1 for Failure is an Attitude of I can do it myself.

The world has a way of engulfing and enticing us to follow our natural

inclinations of self and ego. The world encourages the attitude of “I can do it

myself.” So we go our own way, leaving God out of our lives. We get wrapped

up in our own little world which generally leads to a messed-up life. Rarely,

does a life without God not end up as a pile of rubble.

It was in this context that I saw my life. I had accepted Christ into my life

many years ago but had wonder down my own pathway and my life was not

much more than a pile of rubble. The foundation of my life had crumbled and

the spiritual fiber that held my life together had deteriorated. I was a mess

and I knew I had to fix the mess. But how?

And just as the walls

around Jerusalem and

the Temple were a pile of

rubble, so it was with

me. Rebuilding my life

into a life God wanted

would require a lot of

work. The Book of

Nehemiah provides a blueprint to follow. It outlines the work and the

dedication required to rebuild the walls around the City of Jerusalem. It takes

the same work and dedication to rebuild a rubble life into a life pleasing to

God.

I needed the help of God and guidance of the Holy Spirit. From my vantage

point my life was in need of a major renovation, like the pile of rubble

Nehemiah faced. And so, Nehemiah spoke to me and I began to see the

parallels of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem and rebuilding my life. Not

just the exterior appearance or just putting away bad actions and habits but to

go deep into my soul to root out the garbage thinking, rotten emotions and

my unruly will.

Why pausing and Asking God for Help Works?

Most of us are notorious for not asking for God’s help until our backs are


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against the wall. It usually takes drastic steps by God to awaken us to the

need for Him and to release control to Him. For me it took throat cancer to

come to a point of dependence on God. I released everything to God and said,

“God, let your will be done. I accept your outcome of this cancer.”

Trials from God are to awaken us to our need of God. Unfortunately, we often

miss the lessons from the trials and God has us repeat the same trials. And,

[Write This One Down] we will keep repeating the same trials until we learn

the lesson God is showing us.

As it has been said, “Don’t get stuck in stupid.” Trials are for learning; not for

repeating. The definition of stupidity is, repeating the same thing over and

over expecting a different result.

The Beginning of a Successful Christian Life is to

Acknowledge where you are.

And so, step one in rebuilding a life in harmony with God is to acknowledge

you are not in the will of God. You have drifted away from God and you desire

to return to God and are willing to seek His purpose for your life.

The habit of waiting until our

circumstances are drastic

usually means that by the time

we final open our lives to

Christ, considerable damage

has been done. Committing the

many sins is bad enough but

we also develop unhealthy

habits in our thinking, our emotions and our will. The very depths of our souls

need to be rebuilt and these old habits require constant guidance and

discipline.

Acknowledging our need for Christ is paramount. If you have never really

opened up to God’s Spirit working deeply and powerfully in you, your first

invitation is to invite Christ into your life and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you

in rebuilding a life pleasing to God.

This may seem like a daunting task. It is if you try to do it by yourself. But the


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Spirit of God is in us and we only need to acknowledge God’s Spirit and seek

the help and guidance of the Holy Spirt.

The Key to a Steady and Consistent Christian is

Becoming Dependent on God

Paul wrote to the Galatians, “Having begun [your new life spiritually] with the

[Holy] Spirit, are you now reaching perfection [by dependence] on the flesh”

(Galatians 3:3)? Note: this is a question. Paul was pointing out that we cannot

be dependent on the flesh (self) but must be dependent on the Spirit of God.

We are reminded that the new birth

isn’t the end of God’s purpose and

will for us. The Spirit of God has

started a work in us and He wants

us to grow and advance through

our partnership with the same

power, our dependence on the

power of the Spirit of God.

Questions to ponder:

1. Look back over your life and identify trials that at the time you consider

to be bad luck or just a coincidence. Was it a lesson from God?

2. What lesson was God teaching you?

3. Can you identify certain struggles in rebuilding the walls of your life,

your character, or your personality?

4. Can you see times in your life that you have repeated the same

mistake, made the same bad decision or have gone off in the wrong

direction again?

In Part 2, we will look at what Nehemiah did when he heard the

distressing news about the people in Jerusalem.


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Part 2: What to do when God calls?

Nehemiah Shows Us How to Answers God's Call.

When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days,

fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “O LORD God of

heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast

love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear

be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant

(Nehemiah 1: 4-6).

The Book of Nehemiah provides many lessons for each of us. God gave

Nehemiah the task of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. Rebuilding is a

process and processes take time. When Nehemiah was told about the

rubble wall and the burned gates, he knew the monumental task required

to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

Nehemiah’s immediate response was to weep for his people and then to

turn to God in prayer. The news was unexpected and caught Nehemiah by

surprise. He did not have an instant answer to their problem but he knew

who did.

Prayer and fasting was

Nehemiah’s connection to Him

that had the answer. Nehemiah

knew the One he could depend

on; the one who was faithful.

Nehemiah prayed and fasted every day. He devoted himself to

understanding the will of God and understanding how God wanted him to

go about this task.

The writer of Nehemiah did not tell us that God revealed His complete plan

to Nehemiah. It does tell us that Nehemiah felt very compassionate toward

the Jews in Jerusalem and the dangerous situation they faced. Nehemiah

also knew he had to obtain the permission of the King to leave the service


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of the King and that he needed the King to provide for the materials for

rebuilding the wall.

In prayer Nehemiah came to understand God's plan. He approached the

Emperor to ask for permission to leave the service of the Emperor, travel to

Judah and go about the task of rebuilding the walls and replacing burnt

gates.

Nehemiah had a desire to understand God's plan. He did not come up with

his own plan and ask God to bless his plan. No, he sought to follow the

guidance of God each step of the way.

Our Plans – Our Way?

We, so often, miss the boat because we come up with an idea and we

attempt to execute the idea. We even ask God to bless our plan because we

know it is a plan that will help many people. Our egos cast a shadow over

us and we just know we can do this our way. Our egos run out in front of

even God.

When our plan doesn't develop and go

the way we thought it should, we

scratch our heads and wonder what

happened. Step one should always be to

seek God's will for our lives and God's

purpose for us. God desires to be by our

side and help us but with His plans.

We often put the cart before the horse. First, we need to go to God in

prayer with the idea and ask God if this is His idea or one that we came up

with. Just because a good idea comes to us does not mean it is from God,

no matter how many people it will help.

Nehemiah prayed and fasted for 4 months before taking the first step. I am

not suggesting that we pray for 4 months about every idea you have but I


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am suggesting that we involve God in every idea so that we will not be

misled.

Once we feel our idea came from God, we should ask God for His help and

direction in executing the task. God has plans for each of us and it should

be our intent to follow God’s plan.

Ideas come from God, from our own making and from the evil of this world.

Satan likes nothing better than leading Christian down a path that will

ultimately cause us to drift away from fellowship with God.

God’s Plans Can’t be Stopped

After Jesus was resurrected, Peter and the Apostles went about teaching

about Jesus, doing good and healing the sick. The Sadducees were filled

with jealousy and had them arrested. They threw them in jail. During the

night an angel opened the doors of the jail and instructed them to go to the

Temple and continue teaching.

When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them

(Apostles). But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of

the law, respected by all the people, stood up and ordered the men

(Apostles) to be put outside for a short time. Then he said to them,

“Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you propose to do to these

men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody,

and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him; but he was

killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and disappeared.

After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got

people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him

were scattered. So in the present case, I tell you, keep away from

these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking

is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able

to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting

against God!”(Acts 5:33-39 NRSV)

This is a very powerful lesson for each of us to know. “If it is of God, you

will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found


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fighting against God.” When we are working for God and His ideas and

plans, we are on in “Good Hands.”

Why was Nehemiah successful? Because he prayed and prayed. He sought

God’s plan for him and followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

GOD, What Do You Want Me To Do?

Nehemiah offers so many lessons about rebuilding; rebuilding our

lives, our thoughts and our attitudes---our very souls!

Nehemiah is truly a textbook for rebuilding the thoughts, emotions

and our wills within us. As a Disciple for Christ, it is our desire to

become more like Christ. Nehemiah provides many lessons about

rebuilding our lives in the image of Christ. These are practical

instructions for growing and maturing in the service of God.

Should we be talking about building our lives or rebuilding our lives

to be more like Jesus Christ. Since we are starting from today with a

heavy load of mind garbage, I will refer to this process as

REBUILDING. We desire to replace our old way of thinking with a new

way of thinking.

The rebuilding of the inner man is what Paul

encouraged all of his followers to do. It is the

inner garbage thoughts that cause us to shoot

ourselves in the foot; actually both feet. The

amount of harm we cause ourselves and others is

incalculable. But since our lives parallel the

general population of this world and looks much

like everyone else, we generally don't think much about it. Ho Hum!

That's Life! And we move on.

STOP!!!!! Is this the way life is supposed to be? Is this what God

expects of us? Is the Ho Hum, That's Life, way-of-life pleasing to God?


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Take a deep breath, relax and think about this. What can we do to

change our lives? What can we do to help others? What does God want

us to do?

Think about it! What does God want you to do? Why were you put on this

earth, at this exact time and in this place in the world? You are unique

and different from everyone else in the world .... Just as no one’s

fingerprints are exactly alike. Your purpose is not the same as your

neighbors; it is not the same as your friends. You are special and you are

unique and you were made by God. Each person is cut from a carefully

crafted mold created by God ....You are one of a kind.

Nehemiah's Call from God

Have you read the book of Nehemiah? Nehemiah was a unique person, in

a unique position and at a unique time in history. God spoke to

Nehemiah and gave him a unique mission.

Nehemiah was born during the time the Jews were in exile in Babylon.

He had risen to the position of cupbearer for the Persian Emperor,

Artaxerxes. The Persians had defeated the Babylonians and ruled the

world. Artaxerxes was the ruler of the vast Persian Empire from 465 BC

to 425 BC. The Persian Empire reached from the Mediterranean Sea to

India…most of the known world.

So, to say the Nehemiah was in a unique position is an understatement.

He lived in the palace in luxury and comfort akin to that of the Emperor.

Nehemiah was the cupbearer whom’s job it was to serve wine to the

Emperor. This meant Nehemiah had to buy the best wines, maintain a

well-stocked wine cellar and to taste each glass of wine before serving

the wine to King Artaxerxes.

The Life of a Cupbearer for the Emperor

A cupbearer was someone the Emperor trusted explicitly. The Emperor's

life was always at risk and he surrounded himself with those he trusted.


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Emperors had many enemies. Someone always stood in the shadows

looking for an opportunity to knock off the Emperor and take control of

his Empire. Slipping poison in his wine was a very real threat. Before

serving wine to the Emperor, the cupbearer would taste the wine to let

the Emperor know the wine was safe for him to drink.

Nehemiah had gone from being in exile to a position of trust in the

palace of the most powerful man in the world. Life was good for

Nehemiah.

So now that we have considered

the lifestyle of Nehemiah and

the career he enjoyed, you may

ask, "What has Nehemiah's life

got to do with me? I am not a

cupbearer for an emperor nor

am I in any kind of position of

power?" A very good question!

How does your challenge compare with Nehemiah's challenge?

It is the lesson that we want to get from Nehemiah's story. We all face

challenges and trials and difficulties. It’s not if we will have challenges in

our lives but how we handle those challenges? Let's look at how

Nehemiah approached his challenges.

Nehemiah was faced with a life changing decision for himself and his

family. God had sought out Nehemiah to go the Jerusalem and tackle

the daunting and dangerous task of rebuilding the walls and gates

around Jerusalem. The exiled Jews had returned to Jerusalem more than

20 years earlier and they lived in danger each day because the walls

around the City of Jerusalem were torn down and the gates were

burned. The walls which provided safety for the inhabitants of Jerusalem

were a pile of rubble. Any enemy or thief could approach the City and

attack at any time.


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A small band of returning Jews under the leadership of several men

including, Haggai and Zechariah, rebuilt the Temple but they were

unable to rebuild the walls and replace the burned gates.

The story within the Nehemiah story

The surface story in the book of Nehemiah is about Nehemiah and the

people who rebuilt the wall. It is about how Nehemiah went about

getting the Emperor to support him by allowing Nehemiah to travel to

Jerusalem. It is also about the Emperor providing Nehemiah with a

Letter of Authority for safe travel and for acquisition of the materials

needed to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.

This is a fabulous story. But the story within the story is about

rebuilding the inner self, our thoughts, our emotions, our wills, and

even our intellect. In other words, rebuilding our souls… since the soul

is made up of our intellect, our thoughts, our emotions and our will.

The Temple had been rebuilt by the Jews. The Temple represented the

life changing experience of accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Next, the task of rebuilding and transforming the inner self into the

person that Christ desires each of us to be. It is not an easy task and it

is not a quick fix task. It requires all the education and persistence a

person can muster.

First Things First

What was the first thing Nehemiah did when he received the message

from Hanani that the people in Jerusalem were distressed and living daily

in fear for their very lives?

Time's up ... No, he did not argue with God like most of the prophets did

when approached by God to carry God's message to His people.


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Nehemiah prayed. He prayed and fasted. He prayed and fasted for four

months. Nehemiah asked God for help. Nehemiah wanted to know God’s

will and plan for him.

Our "Ask God for Help" Lesson: When God gives you a task, large or

small, pray about it. Seek God's directions. Our lesson from Nehemiah is

that it may require more than one short prayer. It may require prayer for

an extended period of time. Sometimes, it just takes time for us to give

up our timetable and accept God's timetable.

Also, notice that Nehemiah did not catch the first caravan to Jerusalem to

begin the task God had given him. No, he did not run off half- cocked

and unprepared. He prayed ... he prayed and fasted ... he prayed and

fasted for 4 months. He was patient and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide

him, to teach him and to strengthen him.

Remember too, that Nehemiah's career was not in construction. He was

not a wall builder. He sipped wine for a living. He lived the soft life inside

the palace, ate the Emperor's food and drank the Emperor's wine. This

did not prepare him for construction work nor did it teach him how to

build a wall; much less build a wall in hostile territory while the enemy is

trying to kill the workmen to stop construction of the wall.

Just a Nehemiah did not expect to be called to build a wall around

Jerusalem; we don't always know what God will call us to do. When God

calls, listen, pray and pray some more until God says you are now ready.

Go build my wall.


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Part 3: Nehemiah’s Prayer and the Faithfulness of God

How Nehemiah came to know God’s plan.

The manner in which Nehemiah prayed tells us a great deal about

Nehemiah. Let us look at his prayer. We will see the significance of it

and how we can apply Nehemiah’s prayer to our daily prayer life.

Nehemiah served as the cupbearer for the Artaxerxes, the Emperor of

Persia. The Persians defeated the Babylonians and many of the Jews in

exile were released and they had returned to Jerusalem. They had

rebuilt the Temple but the city of Jerusalem and the walls around the

City were in rubble.

Nehemiah talked to his brother after

Hanani returned from Jerusalem. Hanani

told Nehemiah that the Jews in Jerusalem

were in great difficulty and that the

foreigners there looked down on the

Jews. They were distressed and lived in

fear. The walls around the City were

down and provided no protection for

them.

This caused Nehemiah great distress and

sorrow. When he heard this he wept. Then, he fasted and prayed to

God. He prayed for 4 months.

Nehemiah Prayer for His People

When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for

days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “O

LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps

covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his

commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to

hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and

night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of


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the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and

my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply, failing to

keep the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances that you

commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you

commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will

scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep

my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under

the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to

the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’ They are

your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great

power and your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to

the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who

delight in revering your name. Give success to your servant today,

and grant him mercy in the sight of this man!” (Nehemiah 1:4-11

NRSV)

Nehemiah’s prayer has several parts. Let’s look at each part. From

Nehemiah’s prayer came God’s plan for him. It was the beginning of a

long journey to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the walls and the

gates around Jerusalem. Jerusalem was 450 miles away and was

surrounded by unbelievers and enemies who did not want the Jews to

return to Jerusalem.

1. Nehemiah’s Prayer

What was the first thing Nehemiah did after hearing of the sordid

conditions his people in Jerusalem were experiencing? He fasted and

prayer.

What is your first reaction when

you hear of family members or

friends experiencing a tragedy in

their lives?

Our humanistic response is

usually to wonder what they have

gotten themselves into. Most of


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us would immediately think, “I am glad it isn’t me.”

Nehemiah could have rationalized that they brought this on

themselves. They should have never gone back to Jerusalem…

Someone has fouled up… Why, they have been back in Jerusalem for

all these years, why haven’t they rebuilt the walls around the city? I

tell you what, send me their names and I will deal with them.

No, No. Not Nehemiah. He showed empathy and reacted with

compassion for the people in Jerusalem.

“When I heard these words I sat down and wept,

and mourned for days, fasting and p raying before

the God of heaven.”

Not only does Nehemiah’s prayer give us a glimpse into his heart, it

also provides an important lesson for all Christian. First, by his

immediate reaction (I sat down and wept) he shows his great love for

his people and, second, he began fasting and praying before the God

of heaven.

2. Nehemiah Recognized God’s great power.

I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who

keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and

keep his commandments;”


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Why did Nehemiah feel he needed to say in prayer that that God was

“the great and awesome God?” Did Nehemiah think that God had to be

reminded of who he is?

No. Nehemiah was giving praise to God by recognizing Him for who He

is.

Even in our secular life, we hear people being introduced with

recognition of what they have accomplished and the position the hold.

It is a way of giving praise and thanks to the person being addressed.

Nehemiah did not start his prayer in this way because God needed to

hear how great and awesome He is but because Nehemiah needed to

hear the words. These words established his position with God and

that he has come to Him in awe and in recognition that God is the

Supreme Being that He is.

3. Confession of sin.

“Confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have

sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have

offended you deeply, failing to keep the commandments, the

statutes, and the ordinances that you commanded your servant

Moses.”

Nehemiah knew his

heart and he knew the

history of the Hebrew

people. He knew that

the trouble they were

in was because they

had not followed the commandments God had given them. Note that

Nehemiah did not say they did. He used the pronouns I and we, “We

have offended you.” Nehemiah personally took responsibility for the

sins of Israel.


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How often have we wondered away from God and have not followed

His commandments? We go chasing our own pleasures or whatever

goal we desire at the moment. We let our desires become our idols

and they turn us away from God, We wander off down our own lonely

trail, doing what we want instead of seeking the plans God has for us.

Any desire in our hearts that leaves God out of our lives leads to

trouble and problems and heartache. We make these “things” our idols

by allowing these “things” to come between us and God. “If I behold

the iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear (Psalms 66:18).” Our

sins create barriers between us and God. It is when we confess and

repent of our sins that the barriers are removed and only then does

God bless us.

Nehemiah did not say; “those lousy forefathers had sinned and had

brought this on themselves.” No, Nehemiah prayed that, “Both I and

my family have sinned.” Nehemiah knew he was not free from sin

against God. He took responsibility as being a part of the problem.

In our daily lives whether in the family, school, church or work, we

each must take responsibility for our failures, sometimes in our actions

and sometimes in our non-actions.

As conflicts occur in

our lives, we should go

to God in prayer

concerning any

unresolved conflict with

an attitude of

contrition. We should

confess our part in the

conflict and accept

responsibility before

God; asking God to forgive us for our sins. We do not have the ability

to change the other parties in the conflict; that part is for God only.

But we can and should forgive the other parties.


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4. Nehemiah Believed the Word of God.

Nehemiah did not stop at confessing that he and his family had sinned.

He quoted God’s scripture which God had given to Moses:

“Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses,

‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if

you return to me and keep my commandments and do them,

though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather

them from there and bring them to the place at which I have

chosen to establish my name.’ They are your servants and your

people, whom you redeemed by your great power and your

strong hand.”

This illustrates how strongly Nehemiah believed in the Holy Scriptures

by quoting the promises God made to Moses.

Nehemiah knew the words in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 30.

But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their

ancestors, in that they committed treachery against me and,

moreover, that they continued hostile to me— so that I, in turn,

continued hostile to them and brought them into the land of

their enemies; if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and

they make amends for their iniquity, then will I remember my

covenant with Jacob; I will remember also my covenant with

Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will

remember the land (Leviticus 26:40-42).

Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world, from there the

LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you

back. The LORD your God will bring you into the land that your

ancestors possessed, and you will possess it; he will make you

more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors

(Deuteronomy 30: 4-5).


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Nehemiah was hanging his life and the lives of the people in Jerusalem

on his belief in the Word of God.

The promise to the Israelites was that if they were unfaithful, they

would be carried into a foreign land. This had occurred. The next part

of the promise was that when the people were released from captivity,

that God would bring them back to Jerusalem and protect them. The

Temple has been rebuilt but the people were unprotected. They

needed the walls around Jerusalem for protection from the enemies

living in Judah.

A portion of Nehemiah’s prayer was quoting scripture of God’s

promises. Again, God did not need to hear or to be reminded of His

promises; it was Nehemiah that needed to hears the words again.

5. God is Always Faithful.

God is faithful and Nehemiah knew God to be faithful. Nehemiah knew

that he and his people had sinned and he confessed their sins to God.

Because God is faithful, Nehemiah believed he could call upon the Lord

for guidance in this tragic situation.

God had promised that the people returning to Jerusalem would be

protected and Nehemiah was seeking God’s plan and what God wanted

him to do in providing protection for the people in Israel.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans about the faithfulness of God:

“ No distrust made him (Abraham) waver concerning the

promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he

gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was

able to do what he had promised” (Romans 4:20-21).

From the beginning God has shown that He is faithful. No matter how

we have sinned and no matter how terrible we have lived our lives,


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God is faithful. All we need to do is reach out to God; confess your sin

and God stands with open arms to receive us.

Can we say the same thing about humanity? Are we open to

forgiveness as God wants us to be?

6. Nehemiah’s request – his petition.

“ O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant,

and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your

name. Give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy

in the sight of this man!”

Nehemiah stood ready to do what God wanted him to do.

Nehemiah held an important position in King Artaxerxes’ court. He was

the cupbearer and counselor to the King. Nehemiah could have passed

off the nudge from God to get involved in the distressed people 450

miles away by saying that he was too important and he could not

abandon the King’s service.

Compared to the people living

outside the court of Persia,

Nehemiah lived in luxury. He

could have said that he was

not giving up this life to travel

to Jerusalem to rebuild a wall

and to fight off the enemy.

Besides, this would be just too

tough for his family.

But that is not what Nehemiah did. He got involved. He sought God’s

plan and the direction of the Lord for his involvement.


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And so it is with us. We make decisions daily. Do we get involved or

not? Do we sit on the sideline and make excuses. We can’t do

everything but we can do all that God directs us to do.

A major question often asked is” how do I know God’s plan for me and

if God wants me to get involved in this project? “How do I know God

wants me to teach this class or head up this committee?”

Let’s go back to Nehemiah and take a lesson from him. What did

Nehemiah do? He prayed. How long did he pray? For more than 4

months.

The Book of Nehemiah is such a wonderful study. He knew that God

was faithful and would always be faithful.

We can always depend on what God says in His word.

When God makes a promise, you can stake your life on that promise

being fulfilled.

Part 4: Journey to Jerusalem

Part 5: Restoring our relationship with God

Searching for God’s Plan · (Nehemiah 1: 4-6). The Book of Nehemiah provides many lessons for...

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