Nehemiah: Episode 2
We were first introduced to Nehemiah when he was brought news of the state of Jerusalem.
He is greatly troubled by this news but he also has responsibilities to handle.
How does he cope in this in between time while he processes the news from Jerusalem and carries on with his job in the present? How does he cope in the in between time of a growing sense of what the future may hold and continuing to carry out his responsibilities in the present. How do we cope in our own in between times, facing the opportunities of tomorrow and the challenges of today?
Charles Dickens starts his novel “A Tale of Two Cities” with the famous lines;
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us”
Dickens writes of a season where opposites coexist. We understand that contrasting concepts and conflicting emotions can be part of our experience. I remember at school doing a science experiment when we had three bowls of water. On the left a chilled bowl with ice cubes, in the middle a bowl at room temperature and on the right a bowl of hot water. The experiment was to put one hand in the cold water and one in the hot water and at the agreed signal from the teacher move both your hands into the central bowl. You then had to describe how you felt. Was the water you were feeling hot or cold. Apparently it was something to do with the process of thermal adaption but basically I think it was just trying to blow our 12 year old minds.
I often find conflict in processing experiences and reflecting on how I feel about circumstances.
How do you feel about the future? Excited and confused.
How do you feel the work is going? Encouraging and challenging.
How are you getting on? Making progress and not progressing as fast as I would like
How do you feel about where you are living and working? At home and alien.
There is almost always a lot to process and to be in an emotional interference pattern is not at all unusual.
As I look back over the past five years It has been the best of times and the worst of times.
I posted a picture of Ailsa and I and someone commented how it was great to see us looking so happy and relaxed. It was taken on a day when we were feeling a lot of different things as we processed different bits of family news from the UK and NZ. Appearances can be deceptive, often we are facing complex and conflicting priorities and emotions.
Interesting for me to consider how Nehemiah handles his in between time as a lesson in facing uncertainty, making plans, sharing thoughts and discerning what is going on and how to respond.
Nehemiah’s in between time as he processes the news and considers the future is characterised by days of prayer and fasting. In chapter 1 we are given an insight into these prayers and his process.
Nehemiah 1:5-11 NIV
[5] … “ LORD, the God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, [6] let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family, have committed against you. [7] We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses. [8] “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, [9] but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.' [10] “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. [11] Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
Four key insights here
Nehemiah starts by remembering who God is.
- The God of heaven
- The great and awesome God
- The God who makes covenant with people and keeps promises
- God is love and enters into relationship calling people to love and follow
Faced with conflicting and contrasting feelings being orientated to the character of God is our anchor and our only compass. Nehemiah goes back to the Mosaic covenant and this shapes his perspective.
Perhaps the biggest challenge in leadership is to remember the Lord and focus on him. Oswald Chambers said:
“Prayer does not fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.”
We can do nothing without God’s help and power.
Now I am an activist, I know the theory of this but the practice is much harder.
I have this idea in my head that is hard to dislodge that leadership is about doing things and that these things should all go well.
I often pray that hard times will end rather than praying that we would know God more through the hard time. Nehemiah thinks about who he has rather than what he lacks.
Secondly Nehemiah remembers who he is
He is God’s servant.
Servants wait for direction.
He uses it twice in the prayer in verse 6 and verse 10 and again twice in verse 11 when he talks about himself as a servant and numbers himself with other servants of God. Leaders do not have servants, we are servants, and we serve together.
An old Larry Norman song has the lines which resonates with this prayer of Nehemiah
“I am a servant, I am waiting for the call
I've been unfaithful, so I sit here in the hall
How can you use me when I've never given all
How can you choose me when you know I'd quickly fall
So you feed my soul and you make me grow
And you let me know you love me
And I'm worthless now, but I've made a vow
I will humbly bow before thee”
Thirdly Nehemiah confesses his sin
The sin is personal, generational and encompasses the community of faith
It focuses on their disregard for God. He speaks of wickedness, disobedience and faithlessness
But he remembers that they are still God’s people and God has promised to restore and redeem.
Fourthly Nehemiah prays for help as he plans to speak to the King
He asks for God’s favour
We are going to see in the next episode that he is fearful and unsure of what the response will be
He is entering uncharted territory
But he waits for God’s timing.
Much has been made in some quarters of the importance of the first 100 days in a new role. It is described as a time for boldness, clarity and to set course as well as an opportunity to build relationships and communicate vision.
But these first 100 days may also be an in between time, where waiting and listening is the priority.
Another three months is going to pass before Nehemiah speaks to the King
He lives in this in between time
Waiting, seeking, praying and discerning the moment.
A Tale of Two Cities is set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution
The novel ends with one of the central characters Sydney Carton going to his death at the guillotine. He goes quietly reciting the verse “I am the resurrection and the life”. Dickens ends the novel with an interesting device where he imagines what Sydney might have said and he sees his death as the means by which a new world order could emerge. The last line is particularly poignant “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known”
Every time we take communion and especially as we celebrate Easter it is good to remember the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection that turned the worst of times into the best of times. And to appreciate that in our present reality we continue to live in the great in between time between Jesus resurection and future return. The kingdom of God is at hand but there is much more to come and between that last great day and this day we seek to make the most of every opportunity but do so with patience, gentleness, respect and dependance on the Lord’s help.
So for me the big challenge of this is to pray like Nehemiah remembering who God is, and who I am confessing sin and seeking favour. I need God’s help in whatever he is calling me to do.
I wonder what strikes you from Nehemiah’s prayer?
What conflicting things do you feel at the moment and who is praying with you and for you in these?
I pray that you will seek the Lord and know his presence in your in between times.