“Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” -Proverbs 25:28
How many of you have ever heard news about a troubling situation? When you did, what was your first reaction? Anger? Fear? Sadness? In Nehemiah, when he first learned of the condition of Jerusalem’s walls, he wept. Even though he had a good job as a cupbearer to the King of Susa, when the word reached him about the walls of Jerusalem, it says that he mourned and fasted and prayed for days.
Nehemiah was devastated because a city without a wall was wide open to be plundered by thieves or enemies. Not only did a city’s walls help to protect people and their households, it also represented the blessings that were stored within. But a city with broken down walls represented disgrace.
As we start a new sermon series together this week on the book of Nehemiah, what we will discover is how God uses people who are ready to be used by God. Nehemiah begged God to change the situation, and God called him to rebuild the walls (Nehemiah 2). But what did it all start with? A discontented heart! A heart that desired to see something change! A heart that mourned the current situation and was ready to be used by God.
Nehemiah’s name means “the Lord comforts.” It's amazing to think that God comforted Nehemiah, and then comforted His people through the strong leadership and vision of Nehemiah. As we will come back to over and over again through this series, “God won’t do something through us until He does something in us.”
Where is your heart of discontent? What are you weeping and fasting and praying over? Do any walls need to be rebuilt in your life? In your family? Your community? Do some walls need to come down, and others go up - so that sin can be cast out and kept out? How is God comforting you so that you can be a comfort to others?
I encourage you to join us as we dive into the book of Nehemiah, and I equally encourage you to invite your friends and neighbors. I believe that this promises to be a wonderful series of casting vision, bringing comfort to others, and building something incredible here - personally and as a church. I look forward to seeing you in person or online!
