Nehemiah – Chapter 1

And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” Nehemiah 1:3 – Many decades earlier a remnant of Israel was blessed with being able to return to Jerusalem after the nation was exiled from their homeland. When they returned they found the city completely leveled. While they rebuilt many homes and even the temple of the Lord, one part of the city that had yet to be rebuilt was the city wall. This meant they were continually venerable to outside attacks and had no way to protect themselves from whenever their enemies decided they wanted to attack. In this state there was no future for them moving forward and growing, instead it was survival everyday, always walking in some level of fear from an enemy. That is no way people should live, but that was the life of those in Jerusalem at this time, and it also is the life for many in our day. So many people in our world don’t have the “spiritual wall” of Jesus surrounding their life. They are walking daily through life with no spiritual protection and the enemy has full access to their lives, and he’s using every bit of it. He is stealing their joy, he is killing their relationships, and he is destroying their lives…and on their own they can do nothing to stop him. This isn’t news to most Christians, but is it news that shakes us? Have we become numb to the reality that Satan is stealing, killing, and destroying that it doesn’t break our hearts like it broke Nehemiah’s? From what we can tell Nehemiah prayed for four months on what to do before going to the king, maybe even a small fraction of that amount of prayer we can do for the lost loved ones in our story. Remember if they don’t have Jesus, they don’t have His protection from the enemy. Pray they turn to Jesus and be ready to be used by Jesus in their life. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3398

O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” Now I was cupbearer to the king. Nehemiah 1:11 – There was a Matthew West song awhile back called “Do Something” and this chapter is a prime example of that song. See the song talks about seeing the brokenness in the world and someone crying out to God to do something about it. God replies, “I did, I created you.” See Nehemiah here sees the brokenness of God’s people. Rather than asking God to do something about it, He asked God for success in his efforts because he clued into the truth that God put him there to do something about the brokenness in front of him. We too are seeing brokenness all around us today. Of course bring it to God, as for His help and guidance, but realize that God has placed you in this world to be a tool of His to carry His healing power into the brokenness. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1283

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:4 – Word had come to Nehemiah that the city of Jerusalem and the people of God were in great trouble because the surrounding city walls and gates had been destroyed. The response we see from Nehemiah is a common response that we see in scripture when news is shared about the troubles another group of followers of God are having. Nehemiah wept and was saddened for days, even fasted and prayed that God would respond to their need. While this group at this time had no real impact on the daily life of Nehemiah, hearing about their condition broke Nehemiah’s heart and drove him to his knees in prayer. I want this to be my heart when I hear about the turmoil and struggle of other believers, even those that are far beyond my daily interaction. If I hear a church in my area struggling, I hope it drives me to prayer for them. If I hear about persecution of the gospel in another country, I don’t want to just dismiss that as “Not my problem, can’t do anything about it.” If someone shares about their distant relative that doesn’t know Jesus, I want to desire that person knowing Jesus as if they were my dear friend. What we see in Nehemiah is a heart for something bigger than him and his world. He had a heart for what God has a heart for. Let our prayer today be for God to move our hearts as they ought to be moved and to break our hearts for what breaks His. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2504