Lord, I Have A Problem!

"O, Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, Let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, now day and night" Neh. 1:4-6a). 

Hey Gang:  Did you know your face sends messages even without saying a word?  The king said to Nehemiah "Why is your face sad?"  What do you request? (2:4).  Nehemiah had just received an up- date on the condition of Jerusalem and the Temple and it hit him in the stomach like a sledge hammer.  It seems, Lord, when he heard this message, he felt a compulsion to do something about it. 

But, he had a problem. He was the king’s cup bearer and literally responsible for the safety of the king.  He also had another problem, he was on the low end of the totem pole, with no influence and certainly no finances to do anything about rebuilding a city and Temple.  Been there!  That is a good description of where I was when God said, “Pack it and move to Michigan and build a home for hurting children.”  

I learned very quickly that when God moves, the barriers fall and some very painfully.  As the cup bearer Nehemiah’s number one chore was to not cause the king any woe, but, as I am quite sure you are aware, when we are dealing with very tough issues our face tends to show the pain and agony we are experiencing.  His face was different that day and the king took notice of it.

I once came home to find my son David, who was a student in college, sitting at the counter in the kitchen. One did not have to be to alert to see there was a sadness in his eyes.  I asked why - his response, “I am more convinced each day that I am not taking the right courses to prepare me for what I really want to do.”

Nehemiah had sadness in his eyes and the king said, "Hey, what's happening, man?”  Have you ever been asked that question?  And, if you have been asked and you are dealing with a tough issue, what was your response? ‘Oh, nothing.”

  Nehemiah, had a decision to make. I suspect he had a pretty good relationship with the King, so perhaps his answer was easy - "You see, King, I have just learned about my home town and church and it is not good news.” 

God had opened the window - the question was now would Nehemiah have the courage to walk through it.    Been there! When God opened a way, but it required having the faith to battle the alligators and walk through the thorn bushes to get to where the blessing was.  In Project Survive we dangled the carrots far enough away that it took a commitment on the part of the participants to get to it.  God opened the door, did Nehemiah have the faith to put God's plan into action?

We know from the rest of the account that Nehemiah did indeed lay his burden out before the king and the king not only heard his heart but also responded in a magnificent way.   When we answered God's call to quit our jobs, sell our house, up root our kids and move across country to become an unemployed director of a non-existent Boy’s home, the story of Nehemiah became very important to me.  

Soooo, good folks, it does not take the brains of an Einstein to realize that Satan knows his days are very short. He has pulled out all stops to make your life as miserable as he can.  David Wilkerson wrote a magnificent article titled Satan is Out to destroy You.   In closing his article he quoted Psalms 112:4, 6-10 and 121:7-8. But the one that hit my hot button was Ps. 27:5 "For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me."  The Lord said, "Call upon me in the day of trouble: I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me." (50:15).

Are you calling on the Lord to heal our nation?

Feb 11-Flash, The following message came in today " John Kerry, the US Secretary of State made an attempt to get President Obama to confront Israel and force them to accept his peace proposal, despite their objections to it. Given this refusal, Israeli television reported last night that the peace deal has “pretty much collapsed.”  Hallelujah!

Blessings, 

Gramps