June 11
But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Nehemiah 6:11
What a dilemma Nehemiah was in! By running away he would abandon his people and the project to rebuild Jerusalem’s city walls. To enter the temple was forbidden; an offense to God! How could he possibly go there to save his life? Quickly he recognized he was being set up to be discredited before his people. Through prayer and with faith, he made the choice to stay and face his enemies; and thus the work to repair the walls continued, step by step, successfully.
When life becomes challenging, most of us at some point want to “run away” from it all, to some imaginary peaceful place where no problems exist. But, life’s challenges are an inherent part of our being. Unfortunately, unsolved problems and challenges affect our spirit and our psyche and until resolved, will continue to do so. They then become our enemy consuming our energy and depleting our confidence that God is with us. Our strength to cope with life comes from Him (Philippians 4:13). With prayer we too can make choices to face any enemies that prevent us from completing the work God has for us to do. Sometimes though, in our prayers to God for help, we wait and wait for answers; we “run away,” hiding in our faith and wait for Him to take action. It just may be that God is waiting for us to stop running away and to begin the process ourselves with Him beside us. He may just be waiting for us to listen to our hearts and one step at a time go forward, trusting in Him.
Father, help us face our challenges head on and with your help take action.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson
But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Would a man like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Nehemiah 6:11
What a dilemma Nehemiah was in! By running away he would abandon his people and the project to rebuild Jerusalem’s city walls. To enter the temple was forbidden; an offense to God! How could he possibly go there to save his life? Quickly he recognized he was being set up to be discredited before his people. Through prayer and with faith, he made the choice to stay and face his enemies; and thus the work to repair the walls continued, step by step, successfully.
When life becomes challenging, most of us at some point want to “run away” from it all, to some imaginary peaceful place where no problems exist. But, life’s challenges are an inherent part of our being. Unfortunately, unsolved problems and challenges affect our spirit and our psyche and until resolved, will continue to do so. They then become our enemy consuming our energy and depleting our confidence that God is with us. Our strength to cope with life comes from Him (Philippians 4:13). With prayer we too can make choices to face any enemies that prevent us from completing the work God has for us to do. Sometimes though, in our prayers to God for help, we wait and wait for answers; we “run away,” hiding in our faith and wait for Him to take action. It just may be that God is waiting for us to stop running away and to begin the process ourselves with Him beside us. He may just be waiting for us to listen to our hearts and one step at a time go forward, trusting in Him.
Father, help us face our challenges head on and with your help take action.
Copyright© 2014 Kathleen A. Matson