Boldness of Faith
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Nehemiah 9:1-6
1. Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth upon their heads. 2. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. 3. And they stood up in their place and read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; for another fourth of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. 4. Upon the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani; and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God. 5. Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, "Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be thy glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise." 6. And Ezra said: "Thou art the Lord, thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and thou preservest all of them; and the host of heaven worships thee.
The wall around the city of Jerusalem has been rebuilt under Nehemiah’s leadership. He was an amazing man! He prayed reverently and fervently at each step along the way for God to direct him – what he should say to the king so he could go to Jerusalem, how he should recall all the scattered tribes to come and help with the rebuilding; how he should conduct himself when the people came to him with a problem or a need. He just prayed and prayed and prayed! And after the wall was done, and the celebrations had ended, the Levites – the priests – called upon all of God’s chosen people—together again at last and having accomplished a great thing to offer prayers of thanksgiving and confession.
Imagine how different our attitudes about the routine of our lives would be if we spent a fourth of our day reading from the law (the Bible), another fourth in confession, and then exalted God, thanking Him for His many blessings! Wow! My attitude changed dramatically just from reading Nehemiah this morning. He never lost sight of his mission – and he knew his mission because God had revealed it to him. He was able to complete his mission, because he constantly sought out God’s wisdom and blessing. He was a true role model for his people. Stay in the Word, confess any sins, worship God – go to Him for everything.
It sounds so simple. I wonder if I could spend even one day a week reading the bible, confessing my sins, recalling and thanking God for the many blessings which He has bestowed upon me. Maybe 1 day a month? Even one day a year? I’m not sure God expects that of me or most of the rest of us. But I’m pretty sure he expects at least a part of each and every one of our days. He wants to reveal Himself to us through the scripture. He wants us to confess our sins to Him and beg His forgiveness – that’s how His grace is unleashed. He longs for us to praise Him and acknowledge His greatness – as an artist stands back to admire a work of art—he views us. He desires us to recognize and celebrate our own greatness—possible through the same disciplines that Nehemiah modeled and encouraged.
The Levites confessed not only their own personal sins, but recalled the sins of their ancestors, and of their brothers and sisters, and of their countrymen. They acknowledged God’s great mercy when His beloved turned away from Him in their arrogance and their pride. And they recounted the history of God’s mercy and love—right down to the present day – to each of them standing before their Lord. Likewise, we bear some of the burden of the sins of the world. The wars, the poverty, the child abuse, spousal abuse, addiction, every social ill, all are a part of us and our existence, and so we must accept responsibility for it all. That’s a huge burden to bear! But God is big enough to carry it for us, if we offer it up to Him.
Pray that He will continue to bless His children, his beautiful creations, and that we will spend our lives on the mission He has set before us—never wavering, never straying, never doubting His plans for us. Like Nehemiah, we must turn our lives over to Him and then get to work!
I hope today you spend time reading the bible, confessing the sins of this world, begging God for his continued mercy, and praising Him for his amazing grace. And that your attitude is like that of Nehemiah—trust, courage, boldness through faith in God.
Mary
