IF:Equip, Day 1, Nehemiah 1

Last week it was brought to my attention that the website If:Equip was starting a study of the book of Nehemiah. Not your typical study with homework pages and small group get togethers, but more a time to read through the scripture, reflect and pray on it. I have studied the book of Nehemiah twice now, each time covering every verse, but honestly, I have felt a great need to have a time of focused prayer in my life right now and this appears to be a wonderful opportunity, so I decided to take part. 

The reading started yesterday with the Nehemiah Chapter 1, and please know that it isn't too late if you'd like to join in reading along with women across the country. What a wonderful thing to be a part of a larger group of women of all ages, races, and locations, studying the Word together and sharing what we're taking from the passage! 

So, with all that said, I'm choosing to blog my thoughts from Day 1, Nehemiah, Chapter 1. Please click HERE if you'd like to read the scripture passage in its entirety. 

Things that stuck out to me when I read through Nehemiah 1:

• Verses 2 - 3: Jerusalem is a hot mess. The people are a mess, in great trouble and shame. The physical wall and gates are busted up. All of this is post exile. This is the state of the survivors. It just reminds me that just because you endure a moment of crisis, it doesn't mean that everything is a-okay. Sometimes the effects of a moment of pain last far beyond the actual moment.
• Verse 4: In response to the news, Nehemiah is truly broken over the state of things. He shows an outward focus, a deep love for others that brings about weeping and mourning for days. When have I felt so moved, such care and compassion as Nehemiah shows here? I think this is a perfect example of the commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself."  
• Verse 4: Nehemiah does not automatically go into fix it mode. There is no committee formed that sends out feelers for people to volunteer who have building skills. No, his answer is to first go to the One who is ultimately in control and seeking His guidance first. And notice that Nehemiah approaches God with an offering of sacrifice, choosing to fast and pray, taking away his own sustenance and replacing it with seeking God's counsel. That is such a contrary, unique, uncommon practice than how I usually respond when I am facing a problem,
• Nehemiah's Prayer, Verses 5 - 11:
• There's an acknowledgment of who God is first and foremost
• He requests that his words be heard, an earnest asking for attention
• We see an acceptance of Israel's and his part in this. There is no denial or evading of sin, but instead he comes acknowledging that God had told them beforehand what would happen, that there would be a separation. I think sometimes (okay, often), when I am battling a particular issue, I don't like to take the time to reflect. To see how I got into the mess, confessing my own responsibility and sin, I just like to focus on the God fixing things for me instead. Accepting a role in some of the places I've landed can be painful.
• A repetition of the asking to be heard (v.11). I think anytime you see something repeated, it carries a little more weight, and in this case, it makes me feel the depth of Nehemiah's emotional state when he's praying. That he is just desperate and earnest and pleading with his words, and therefore he is asking once more that God would hear him. 
• Finally he comes asking for success and mercy. No doubt, hearing the news of Jerusalem was fresh in Nehemiah's mind, and so it could be tempting just to charge forth and start praying up the requests, but notice, he takes the time to praise, to acknowledge, to confess first. 

So, what does this mean about God, about me, and the world?

Well, when I read it, the words may have been Old Testament, but they're still true and applicable to day. I'm living in a world that is broken, and just because my fellow humans may make it through a physical catastrophe or a financial crisis, it doesn't mean everything's 100% repaired. Often, there's as much to be done in the repairing and restoration as there was in the surviving. God is still in control and He is still the answer for the question, what do I do now? Seeking Him first should always be my first step. I also certainly think I could take a page from Nehemiah's book on what it means to be whole-heartedly upset and caring for others who may be going through a troubled time. To sacrifice something of me to go to God on their behalf is not a typical behavior I practice. Like most of the world around me, I'm so focused and pouring my efforts and attention into what affects me and those closest to me, that I feel I can't spare very much for others. A pray here and there, maybe, but weeping, mourning and fasting? No, probably not. This passage is an encouragement as to how I respond to what I see going on around me, even if it isn't happening in my own house. 

Seeing as I know how things play out in this book, I know that God can move in a mighty way when His people act as Nehemiah did. So, I'm excited to come alongside the IF group and apply these days of scriptural study to my life. 

Till next time - C