Nehemiah 2:14 – 15
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool, but there was no room for the animal under me to pass. So I went up in the night by the valley, and viewed the wall; then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
The book of Nehemiah documents the events of rebuilding the Jerusalem walls during their captivity in Persians. Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, the Persian king. Nehemiah had received news of the dilapidated state of Jerusalem. The news grieved him greatly. Normally, Nehemiah served the king with a normal attitude, but after hearing the news, the king recognized Nehemiah’s sadden state. He inquired about the sadness. Nehemiah knew it could mean his life if his answer displeased the king, but he told the king the truth.
Nehemiah surveyed the broken walls of Jerusalem in the middle of the night. He had the king permission to rebuild the walls. He wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem so they were no longer an embarrassment to Israel. My focal point is how he viewed the challenge of the walls.
We have all heard of mountaintop experiences and valley experiences. As Pastor Craig has mentioned, to get from one mountaintop to the next we must go through the valley. Each book I’ve read which mentions valley experiences states they are times of great learning and strengthening.
Here is what I learned from Nehemiah’s account. It says when he arrived at the King’s Pool, he had to get off his animal and go lower so he could view the walls. He had to get on bended knees to fully understand his situation. I’m sure as he crouched lower to see the walls, the challenge grew in magnitude. He learned how great his challenge was.
But Nehemiah did something most of us might not think to do. In seeing the size of the problem, he saw his God was bigger. He took the amount of work back to God in prayer, maybe even when he was on his knees surveying the situation and said, “Ok, God, we’ve got a lot of work to do. How will you lead me to accomplish it?”
We learn from the rest of the account given in the book of Nehemiah how God gave him wisdom, knowledge, and courage to finish the task and Jerusalem come out stronger than ever before. What is your situation? Has it driven you to your knees yet? Know for a fact, you will come out stronger if God is involved.
#offeringthoughts
Copyright © 2017, David A. Zimmer, All Rights Reserved.