Day 36

God keeps bringing me back to the Old testament story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a Jew, living in exile, a slave, cup-bearer to the King of Persia. Jerusalem, God’s city, Nehemiah’s homeland, lies in ruins thousands of miles away when God tells Nehemiah to return to his city and restore it, to protect His people who were returning there from exile.

The imagery in this story as it relates to our lives today is powerful: God’s people uniting to rebuild broken walls reminds me of us, together on this journey, learning how to protect ourselves from our spiritual enemy. And just like we face opposition when we begin to engage in this protective activity, Nehemiah’s enemies also rushed in to oppose him because they loved to see God’s city, and God’s people, in ruin.

Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other” as Nehemiah called to them, saying, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.

—NEHEMIAH 4:14-17

I always feel a stirring in my heart when I read these words. The work that God called Nehemiah to all those thousands of years ago is the same work He is calling you and me to today.

To remember the Lord who is great and awesome

To fight for our brothers, our sons and daughters, our families and our homes.

But many of us seem to have forgotten our purpose as God’s people. We are scattered, divided, apathetic and self-involved. We have lost our sense of purpose in the greater plan of God: To stand together in the strength of Jesus and oppose the enemy who “prowls around seeking someone to destroy” (1 Peter 5:8). We either cocoon ourselves in prosperity and comfort or we withdraw from the battle, wounded and bleeding.

I withdrew from the battle. Life got hard and I forgot that the Lord is great and awesome. I stopped fighting, pulled up the blankets of self-pity snugly around me and went to sleep.

And the devil laughed.

But the mercy of God found me and woke me up. The power of God (not my might, not my power) (Zechariah 4:6) lifted me, as it had before and before, out of the mud and the mire and gave me a firm place to stand (Psalm 40:2). And the Lord set my feet back on the path that He had marked out for me before any of my days on this earth came to be (Psalm 139:16). The wasted years were lost but the PRESENT of God is still here. My gifts, carelessly tossed aside all those years before are still here. The merciful, powerful, hope-filled present of His plan for me is still here.

I never again want to give the devil a reason to laugh.

God’s PRESENT is still here for you too. Step into the merciful, powerful, hope-filled present that God has for you today. It starts with you looking, through your tears of regret, to the God of today. Turn your eyes toward Him.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace

—HELEN HOWARTH LEMMEL