RPG Adults
PERSPECTIVES FOR SUCCESSFUL SERVICE (VII)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19
Nehemiah 6:10-14
2 Corinthians 4:8-18
“We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed.”
PERSPECTIVES FOR SUCCESSFUL SERVICE (VII)
Nehemiah’s journey of accomplishing the will of God and fulfilling the call of duty to God was full of challenges and trials. Yet, the records were not just an outline of the trials and struggles of the servant in the line of duty. Rather, they were a testament to the resolve of the servant and the success of service. The burden that the Lord placed in the heart of Nehemiah was one that he would be able to discharge, against all odds, to the glory of God. Nehemiah trusted his Master and committed himself to the work at hand.
Let us meet together in the house of God (Neh 6:10). The account of Nehemiah, with regard to the opposition, included a trial that came from an unlikely source and sought to draw him away from his work and do him mischief at an unlikely venue. As was observed previously, nothing was worth deviating from one’s main call and purpose in God’s work for, not even something that was covered with a cloak of “false spirituality.” Nehemiah was being tempted by Shemaiah to secure his own safety by hiding in the temple. Imagine he who had trusted and served God to then run and hide in fear. He who had been stedfast and resolute, who in the course of his duty and service to God had sacrificed personal comfort (Neh 4:23) and personal rights (Neh 5:14), to then flee for personal safety based on unconfirmed reports of threats “for they will come to slay thee” (Neh 6:10). He was one who prayed unto God, set up a watch and armed the builders when the enemy conspired together “to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it” (Neh 4:8). Yet he was now advised to meet “within the temple” not to pray, but to “shut the doors of the temple” in order to secure personal safety. What message would this send to the men who did the work of building, and to those who periled their lives keeping watch in the night? Nehemiah responded with a resolute and fearless “I will not go in” (Neh 6:11). He refused to trespass even for personal safety (Num 18:7; 2 Chron 26:18).
THOUGHT: (Read Psalm 55:22.)
PRAYER: (Use Psalm 55:23.)