Build that Wall

Fifty-two thousand captives had left Persian captivity and returned to Judah.  King Cyrus had ordered that anyone who wanted to go should be allowed to leave.  Fifty thousand left with Zerubbabel.  Two thousand left later with Ezra.  Nehemiah had undoubtably had the option to leave when the others did, but he chose to stay.

Nehemiah had a good thing going in the capital at Susa and he knew it.  He was the cupbearer.  That may sound like he was insignificant, but far from it.  Next to the queen, he probably had more access to the king than anyone else.  The king trusted him with his life -- literally.  Nehemiah managed the meals at the palace.  Part of his responsibility was to be sure that everything that the king ate was safe. Attempts to assassinate the king were not uncommon.  The threat of poisoned food was real. Nehemiah would put his life on the line each day, testing the food, assuring the king that it was safe for consumption.

Nehemiah was obviously dependable, trustworthy, and responsible.  He was a man of integrity and honor.  He had strong convictions about doing the right thing.  When he heard the news that the wall around Jerusalem was still down, Nehemiah was heartbroken.  He was grieved to hear that the city and its people were left without the defense that the wall would provide.  He felt a deep sense of urgency that something had to be done, and that he was the one that had to do it.

The wall would be the only thing that would stand between the city and its enemies.  The people had to have someone to lead them in building the wall.  Nehemiah felt the weight of a need that they had ignored.

After spending time in prayer, Nehemiah took a chance and made a bold request of the king.  It was a risky thing to do, but Nehemiah knew that he had to do something.  His people were in need.

He took a risk, and the king showed him favor.  He gave him permission and provisions to go to Jerusalem and build the wall.  Nehemiah was a pioneer mission worker.  He led a small construction team that, with the help of the Jews who were already in the city, accomplished more than it would seem possible.

In 52 days, they built a wall 15 feet thick and 4.5 miles long.  It is impressive to think how much they accomplished in such a short period of time.  It is amazing what can happen when God empowers and equips.

Nehemiah felt compelled to build a wall that would defend the city of Jerusalem and its people.  He knew that without the wall, the people were vulnerable and subject to attack.  The wall was important to keep them safe from their enemies.

Walls.  People build walls to keep some things in and other things out.  Walls are important.  We have to put walls around those things we think are important.

God continues to call wall builders.  He continues to place in people's heart the sense of urgency to respond to others who are needy and vulnerable.

What has God put in your heart?  What need pulls at your heartstrings?  What concerns come to your mind time and time again during your quiet time?  What has come to your attention that you just can't forget about?

Does it seems impossible?  Maybe.  Building a 4.5 mile long wall that is 15 feet thick in 52 days sounds impossible to me.

So does the possibility of a girl from Brunswick, Georgia, going to Egypt all alone with just $100 to her name and starting an orphanage.  But that is what Lillian Trasher did.  In 1910, 10 days before she was to be married,  Lillian responded to the call to build a wall in Egypt.  To build a wall of protection around children who were dying with no one to care for them.  She called off her wedding and answered God's call.  She left against the wishes of her family to build an orphanage that since it started has housed 25,000 children.  Lillian Trasher was a wall builder.

God is still calling people to do what may seem impossible or at least improbable.  Is he leading you to give your time?  Your money?  Your skills?  Your gifts?  Your prayers?

What wall is God calling you to build?

Teach Me to Wait

Waiting on God.  Who has time to wait on anything or anyone these days?  Wait on God?  If He wanted us to wait, would He have placed us in a time in history when we get everything now?  We want to read a book, we download it.  No need to go to the bookstore.  We want dinner.  We microwave it.  Ready in minutes instead of hours.  We want information, it is at our fingertips, 24/7.

We want it now.  We want it easy.  We want it cheap.  We want it perfect.

There always seems to be somebody that tells us that's what we can can have.  We can have our best life now.  We can have a new husband by Friday.  WE can lose 10 pounds in 10 days without changing what we eat or exercising.

There is someone who will tell us: we can have what we want, when we want it, the way we want it.  It tickles our ears.  It sounds good.  Too good to be true, maybe?

Ever heard the saying, "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for."

That seems like an outdated way of viewing life.  Do we still have to wait, fight, invest our time for things that are important to us?  Or are we living in a new age and time when that no longer holds true?

What can we have now?  What do we still have to invest our time and effort in?  How do we know the difference?

We have one minute devotionals.  We say 30 second prayers.  Has God adapted to the 21st century way of life?  Surely he understands that we are busy.  Too busy.  We don't have time to wait on Him like people once did.

Waiting on God.  Does He make us wait on Him just because He can?  Because He wants to make life hard for us?  Or does He make us wait on Him because of the change it makes in us?

Could it be that God wants me to wait because when I wait, I take time to look at things that I normally rush past?

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).  Take a moment and regain a right perspective.  Do I forget that He is God?  Do I rely on this world and the things it offers and not on the One who created it all?

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary.  They shall walk and not faint.  (Isaiah 40:31).  When I wait I will gain strength.  He renews me when I wait.  He prepares me to soar!

Waiting isn't sounding so bad.  Not grow tired?  That sounds good.  Growing stronger sounds pretty good too.  Being tired and weak seems to be a way of life.  Maybe there is a better way.

Jesus promised power to those who wait.  Luke 24:49  "And I myself will send upon you what my Father has promised. But you must wait in the city until the power from above comes down upon you."  I need his power.  I am certainly aware of my powerlessness.

Waiting isn't a stagnant waste of time.  It's a pause in eternity to invite the Almighty into my circumstances.  It's allowing the Creator of Time to take time to revive my worn out spirit.   Waiting transforms me from overwhelmed and defeated to on top of things and victorious.
 
Teach me, Lord.  Teach me, Lord, to wait.

"What Do You Want Me to Give to You?"

My husband and I had been married six years, were in our late twenties, and desperately wanted children. Nothing happened.  Month after month we were disappointed when I didn't become pregnant.  I began to accept that the ugly label -- infertile -- applied to me.

Oh, how I remember the comments.  People who innocently ask why you don't have any children yet.  The ones who tell you to just relax.  Others who tell you how they never had that problem.  It seemed like people always had something to say.  Then there were the women who didn't want children who were having them.  It all seemed so unfair!!

Finally, we went to the closest infertility specialist we could find.  Her office was a little over two hours away.  When we went in, she sat down to talk with us before she examined me.  Her first question blew me away.

"What can I do for you?", she asked.  HELLO?!   This was a reproductive endocrinologist, an infertility specialist! What does she think I am here for?  After looking at her, completely surprised by her question, I responded.  "You can help us have a baby.  Help us find out why we haven't been able to so far."

When she asked what I needed from her,  I knew exactly what I wanted.  My heart's desire was to have a child.  I had been thinking about nothing else and had made the appointment weeks ahead of time, believing that she could help us.

2 Chronicles 1:7 - 10 records that God asked Solomon a similar question:   God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place.  Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people....  Solomon was bold when he responded to God.  He made a big request, and because Solomon's desire honored God, he was given all he asked and more.

God is still asking, "What do you want me to give to you?"  Psalm 37:4 says Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.  In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. " In John 16:24 Jesus said "Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."

Are you still seeking God for your heart's desires?  Are you still asking for Him to deliver on the promises He made long ago?  Are you boldly asking for Him to give you those things that you desire to return to Him to honor him?

While cautioning us about our motives, James states in chapter 4 verse 2:  You do not have, because you do not ask God.

What do you want from God?  Do you want more of Him? Ask Him.  Do you want to have opportunities to be used by Him? Ask Him.  Do you want Him to shake your life, your family, your church, with His presence and His power? Ask Him.

Our answer to the infertility specialist's question led to her intervention in our situation.  I had hoped she could help. Several months later I became pregnant with our first son.  What if I had not told her what I wanted?  To think, I could have missed out on the joy of my child!

When God asks the question,"What do you want me to give to you?",  He has unlimited resources and total power to give us what we desire.  What are you missing out on because you haven't answered His question?

Money from Jesus

I remember when our oldest son, Drew,  graduated from the nursery to the two-year-old Sunday School class.  No more toddling around with the babies, crying and grabbing cookies from the other kids.  Now it was time to move to a room with a table, where he would sit in a chair, sing songs,  listen to a lesson and color.  He was finally learning about God, Jesus, the Bible!  I could hardly wait to pick him up and see what he thought of his new class.

As I had hoped, he had fun.  He was in a familiar place with familiar people, so the transition was easy.  I asked him about his "story" and he seemed to be excited.  Sunday School was going to be a good experience.  As he jabbered about it (after all, he was two), he showed me something that he had gotten that morning:  a quarter!  Confused, I asked him to explain where the quarter came from.  "Money from Jesus", he explained.  Money from Jesus?  He went on to tell me about the basket they passed around that had money in it.  "Money from Jesus!"

I was mortified!  It had never dawned on me when I was telling him about his new class that they would be passing an offering basket.  My sweet, innocent two-year-old had thought the basket was for him to take money from it!  When he went back the next week, he had the quarter he had taken, plus his own "money FOR Jesus"!

Unfortunately, my then two-year-old's misunderstanding becomes the mind frame of many Christians.  Many of us continue to live year after year looking for what God can give to us, rather than what we can give to God.  We, too, fail to understand that Christianity isn't about what God can do for us, it is about what He has called us to do for Him.

What delight there is in giving to God, to giving ourselves to Him!  To fully realize the joy that overflows when we are seeking what we can do for Him, rather than focusing on what He can do for us!  The psalmist said:  Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).  

What are you seeking?  Could you really be satisfied with anything less than the outpouring of the blessing and favor that comes from seeking HIM?  As Matthew 6:31-33 says in The Message Bible:  What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.