Seeds for 08/27/2024 - Nehemiah 1:3-4
Scripture:
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Observation:
This is a bracing report. Nehemiah probably didn’t expect much in the way of a positive report, but this seems to have really impacted him. A couple of observations:
First, the men are blunt about their report and it isn’t good. Sometimes the news is simply bad. This is heartbreaking and difficult, but it is exactly what Nehemiah asked for and wanted. Sometimes we want and need the raw truth even if it’s hard to hear. To Nehemiah’s credit, he wanted to know the truth.
Second, Nehemiah wanting to know the truth didn’t exempt him from grief and mourning when he heard it. He neither displays stoicism, nor does he fall apart. Instead he takes a moment to grieve (“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.”). He feels his feelings, as we might say today. The scripture reports this as a simple and straightforward fact. It’s not wallowing, but it’s not inauthentic avoiding his emotions either.
Third, Nehemiah takes his grief and pain to God: “For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Rather than shoulder it all himself, Nehemiah turned to the Lord. Peter gives this advice to the early church, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” This is exactly Nehemiah’s response.
Application:
How well do you authentically embrace grief?
How quickly to you cast your cares upon the Lord?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for welcoming our heartbreak and grief. Help me to cast my cares upon you rather than shouldering them by myself. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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