“And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God]” (Daniel 11:32, Amp).
Royal but Fierce (8): The Wine Steward, Nehemiah
Hello wonderful people,
Welcome to the final part of this series! We are so glad that you have joined us on this expository learning.
Well, today, I will be writing about a man called Nehemiah, popularly known as the wall-builder in the Bible.
“The words or story of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: Now in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year [of the Persian king], as I was in the castle of Shushan, Hanani, one of my kinsmen, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the surviving Jews who had escaped exile, and about Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 1:1-2, Amp.).
Like you and I perhaps are, Nehemiah was just an ordinary man but with strong will!
There is a clear difference between being ordinary and being strong-willed. An ordinary man has no portfolio or position but a strong-willed man has the character of a chaser.
Being ordinary is fine but not being strong-willed is a subtle form of mediocrity.
What distinguished Nehemiah from other men who were ordinary as well, was his determination to change his current situation around.
“And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,And said to the king, Let the king live forever! Why should I not be sad faced when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchers, lies waste, and its [fortified] gates are consumed by fire?” (Nehemiah 1:11 & Nehemiah 2:3, Amp.).
He could have neglected the problems of his people since he had some comfort where he was but no! Nehemiah refused to adapt to the terrible situation of his people. He challenged God to do something!
Many times, we leave the act of taking actions to the hands of our leaders forgetting that sometimes taking responsibility should be a co-action, rather than a thing left to be done by those wearing the crowns.
The act of taking responsibility is a thing that should be done by all those who are intentionally willing to grow.
Leaving your life to chance, means leaving your life to the devil.
Take action! Lead! Do what you should do! Refuse to sit in mediocrity!
You cannot change your destiny until you do something about it! God has given us power, He expects that we agree with Him in leading ourselves out of the schemes of the devil. He expects that we raise our voices to those seemingly awful situations troubling our lives. He expects that we rise and act.
It’s okay not to be a king but it’s not okay to sit in mediocrity, letting the devil walk all over you.
Laziness is not okay, so don’t allow yourself into it.
What do you see around you that needs a change, get up and do something at least? Prayerfully take charge of those situations. God gave you power, you have the Holy Spirit, why ask God to come down and do what ought to do? If you don’t pray or act as you have been led to, nothing will change!
The next presidential election in Nigeria is coming up, are you going to leave this to chance? Or will you prayerfully take charge?
What have you left to chance? Are you failing in your duties somewhere? Prayerfully take charge!
I need not write a prayer point for you now, go to God in prayer.