Thoughts from Nehemiah- Sharing the Recovery Process
In the first two chapters of Nehemiah we learned that God dropped a dream into Nehemiah's heart. Nehemiah's heart broke over the brokenness of God's people and the disgrace of the City of God. (Nehemiah 2:17-18).
Nehemiah's heart broke for a physical city and a physical temple, just as much as it broke for spirituality of God's people. Disgrace and tragedy are still alive today as they were in Nehemiah's day. Abuse, abandonment, poverty,the lost, and those who hide their disgrace behind their neatly tailored appearance and well thought out actions, yet are eaten away by the shame of their past. These are things that are and should not be. As the community of Christ, it is our job to follow God's calling in the healing process, to follow as God leads to "work at setting things right as we seek His Kingdom here on earth."- Kelly Minter.
Our hearts ought to be as equally broken for the disadvantaged in this world. It is our calling not to rebuild a physical city, but to reach out and rebuild, to restore the hearts of the hurting to our Savior Jesus Christ, the only one who can take away the pain, the sin, and the shame.
Relationships are dirty work. They require equal effort on both parts, they require the good conversations and the difficult conversations. You cannot be involved in spiritual rebuilding of God's community without getting involved. Nehemiah knew this. This shows up much later on, but Nehemiah was appointed Governor. The perks of being Governor was a nice house, a hefty pay check, and whatever he wanted to take from the people as a "tax" (Nehemiah 5:14-19). Not once did Nehemiah or his other officials take advantage of these perks, because such demands would be too great upon the people. Nehemiah placed the hardship and task upon his shoulders. What he demanded of the people, he demanded of himself. To put it simply, Nehemiah purposefully chose to share in the suffering and recovery process.Relationships are messy, and the work of God is relational. You cannot be involved in the restoration process and stand back at a distance, resting in your comfort zone. Reaching out the disadvantaged, the hurting, the abused, abandoned, lost, and ashamed requires us to share in their hurt and pain.
Prayerfully consider, who God wants you to reach out to. Who in your life needs you to walk along side them, sharing in their restoration? Who is God calling you to minister to?
Nehemiah's heart broke for a physical city and a physical temple, just as much as it broke for spirituality of God's people. Disgrace and tragedy are still alive today as they were in Nehemiah's day. Abuse, abandonment, poverty,the lost, and those who hide their disgrace behind their neatly tailored appearance and well thought out actions, yet are eaten away by the shame of their past. These are things that are and should not be. As the community of Christ, it is our job to follow God's calling in the healing process, to follow as God leads to "work at setting things right as we seek His Kingdom here on earth."- Kelly Minter.
Our hearts ought to be as equally broken for the disadvantaged in this world. It is our calling not to rebuild a physical city, but to reach out and rebuild, to restore the hearts of the hurting to our Savior Jesus Christ, the only one who can take away the pain, the sin, and the shame.
Relationships are dirty work. They require equal effort on both parts, they require the good conversations and the difficult conversations. You cannot be involved in spiritual rebuilding of God's community without getting involved. Nehemiah knew this. This shows up much later on, but Nehemiah was appointed Governor. The perks of being Governor was a nice house, a hefty pay check, and whatever he wanted to take from the people as a "tax" (Nehemiah 5:14-19). Not once did Nehemiah or his other officials take advantage of these perks, because such demands would be too great upon the people. Nehemiah placed the hardship and task upon his shoulders. What he demanded of the people, he demanded of himself. To put it simply, Nehemiah purposefully chose to share in the suffering and recovery process.Relationships are messy, and the work of God is relational. You cannot be involved in the restoration process and stand back at a distance, resting in your comfort zone. Reaching out the disadvantaged, the hurting, the abused, abandoned, lost, and ashamed requires us to share in their hurt and pain.
Prayerfully consider, who God wants you to reach out to. Who in your life needs you to walk along side them, sharing in their restoration? Who is God calling you to minister to?
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