Nehemiah by Ryan Lowery (2014)

Throughout the history of Israel, the nation experienced incredible peaks where they had intimacy with God and incredible lows where they completely lost their faith. Often, we can relate with the despair of the Israelites as they go through a period of suffering. By looking at God's plan in human history, it is apparent that God has an overarching plan that includes both refreshing periods of spiritual highs and difficult periods of spiritual lows. Ultimately, God's most impactful work for his people often comes after years of difficult preparation.

Many Christians have chosen to go through the process of sanctification, but still encounter bumps along the way. They recognize that God has shown them incredible grace, yet still are susceptible to distractions that can turn a spiritual life into something mediocre. It is common to enter into these states of spiritual complacency. The story of Nehemiah contains seven steps toward spiritual renewal: 1) face the reality of our complacency; 2) rely on the promises and grace of God; 3) spiritual dedication; 4) repentance; 5) depend on God's Word; 6) ask God to move in big ways; and 7) be willing to take big steps of faith.

For many Christians, the balance between using their minds to strategize and depending on God is difficult to find. Nehemiah is a great example of someone who was extremely strategic in reaching his goals, while at the same time remaining diligent in prayer. Ultimately, Christian workers need to learn how to take an honest look at spiritual goals and the barriers to their fulfillment, and be ready to take a step of faith.

Any effort toward a worthwhile endeavor will draw opposition, which is why anyone who wants to be used by God needs to learn to handle opposition in a way that is in line with God's values. Being a spiritual leader requires personal sacrifices and also draws naysayers who try to demotivate, mockers that level personal attacks, and even those who will make threats. Nehemiah deals with all of this opposition by turning to God and refusing to become discouraged.\r\n\r\n

According to the Bible, God values love above anything else. Love is essential to carry out God's work, but it can often be difficult and require sacrifice. Often, God allows difficult circumstances to bring up areas of character weakness where we have neglected the ethic of love. In order to be effective Christian workers, we need to follow Nehemiah's example of fighting to ensure that God's work is carried out with love as the guiding principle.

In Christian service, a common tactic from the enemies of God is to try to bait us into extreme reactions. But Scripture calls us to an even-keeled approach where we are centered in the truth. It is looking at the cross that helps us to avoid extremes.

The people of Nehemiah's day found that they wanted to do the will of God, but were largely ignorant about the Scriptures. In order for the Word of God to have its proper effects, we must allow the Word to impact us intellectually, to affect our hearts, and to move us forward into action motivated by love.

All Christians will experience periods of guilt and shame as a result of a moral failing. Five principles for confession are illustrated by the Israelites: we must acknowledge 1) God's sovereignty; 2) that His Word is true; 3) His faithfulness; 4) His righteousness; and 5) how we have been unfaithful in contrast to God's faithfulness. Ultimately, confession means recognizing that we have sinned and choosing to agree with God, while repentance means choosing to act in accordance with what is true.