Seeds for 09/09/2024 - Nehemiah 2:11-12
Scripture:
11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
Observation:
Finally, Nehemiah makes it to Jerusalem. It’s been quite an emotional and spiritual journey hearing the sad reports, fasting and praying, approaching the king, gaining the approval, procuring letters and supplies. Now he is finally there physically. Here are a couple of observations.
First, Nehemiah reports that he had not yet told anyone what “God had put in [his] heart to do for Jerusalem.” He clearly shared with the king, at least somewhat, so he seems to be referring to his fellow Israelites here. Nehemiah seems to be operating on the idea that there’s a time to share and there’s a time to let the word from God incubate. He has not been hasty to share, but he is continuing to move forward nonetheless rather than stalling out.
Second, Nehemiah had been in Jerusalem for three days before he scouted out the situation with a few companions. Even though he had not yet shared his vision for Jerusalem, he recruited others to accompany him on what sounds like a fact-finding mission. He is not yet ready to share everything in his heart, but he still engages others and works in community. He is not alone in scouting out the situation; he has friends doing this work with him.
Application:
When have you needed to hold onto a vision or idea before it was ready to be shared?
How hard or easy was it to engage others to help with tasks related to that vision before you were able to share it?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving us visions for how to make our world, our community a better place. Thank you for companions in the mission. 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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