I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?” Nehemiah 2:7 NIV
It’s easy to be idealistic about serving the LORD until we meet the actual people that we have to work with! Suddenly we realize the truth that Linus shouted, “I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand!” Ministry involves people! Nehemiah was sensitive to people, and he responded with tact. But when needed, he confronted with uncompromising strength. Nehemiah knew how to work with an unbelieving king. This was an especially difficult situation in that the king was Nehemiah’s boss who literally had the power to make Nehemiah’s head roll! That’s why Nehemiah was very much afraid when the king asked him why he was sad in his presence. The king had previously stopped the work on the wall in Jerusalem (Ezra 4:21). Now Nehemiah wants to convince this Persian king to reverse his policy about Jerusalem! It was no easy task! How did Nehemiah do it? As we’ve seen, he moved the king through private prayer. It is amazing how the LORD can soften the hearts of the most difficult people if we will spend time asking Him to do so! Talk to the LORD before you go to talk to a difficult person. The king’s inquiry about how soon Nehemiah could return shows that he wanted him to come back! Nehemiah’s trustworthy character and his loyalty to the king had been obvious over the time that he had worked for the king. Every Christian should be a witness through godly character and competence, and only second by verbal witness.
PRAYER THOUGHT
Lord, may our godly character and competence bear witness to You.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
Lord, may our witness wherever we serve You be first by godly character and competence, and only second to our verbal witness. AMEN
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE READING ASSOCIATION (IBRA)
Hebrews 1:1 – 2:4
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