“In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that had survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.
The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:1-4
It wasn’t just the walls of Jerusalem that were broken down.
The morale, the faith of the Jewish people was at an all time low andin disrepair.
God’s people, at least the ones that had survived the Babylonian seige and exile had returned to nothing but ruins. Imagine the feeling of hopelessness among those who had survived so much. Where would help for this downcast and demoralized people come from? In this case, God used Nehemiah; the meaning of his name is “Comfort of the Lord”, or “comforted by God”.God granted Nehemiah tremendous favor with King Artaxerxes (Esther’s Husband), and against all odds the walls and gates of Jerusalem were rebuilt, and along with it the morale and faith of God’s people. This is just one of so many examples of God’s supernatural deliverance and provision in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds.
We have every reason to believe, to trust and have faith-not in ourselves, but in a God we can call our heavenly Father. So the next time you are feeling low and perhaps facing difficulties remember Nehemiah and those who have gone before us.
With Him we can stand in the gap, the jaws of lions are shut, giants are slain, the impossible becomes suddenly impossible.