SUNDAY May 29, 2022

An Open Opportunity

Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
Nehemiah 2:2-3

Nehemiah was asked by King Artaxerxes what was wrong with his disposition. He assured the king that there was no cause for alarm; the king’s life was not in any danger. God had given Nehemiah an open opportunity to explain to the king the reason for his sadness. The walls of Jerusalem were torn down, and the gates were destroyed.

As Nehemiah shared his burden with the king, the Lord was already moving in the heart of the monarch in his cupbearer’s favor. He wanted to know how he could help. Nehemiah humbly asked the king’s permission if he could leave to help his suffering brethren in Jerusalem. The king agreed to allow Nehemiah to go back to his brethren and help them. He readily provided him with the time, resources and the protection to accomplish the task.

When Nehemiah arrived, one of the first things he did was to go out at night to see the destruction for himself. God moved on his heart as he observed the appalling sight. Jerusalem used to be an incredible place where God’s people worshiped the Lord. Nehemiah, as a strong leader, rallied the people to the cause of rebuilding the walls, saying,

“Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work (Nehemiah 2:17-18).

Imagine if our church building was torn down, and no longer were there any cars or people, and weeds had grown––a derelict land. What a sad picture that would be. A place where God once moved, but where He is not moving any longer. That is how Nehemiah must have felt––sad.

Our extremities are God’s opportunities.
~C.H. Spurgeon~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!