Nehemiah 2:18
‘And I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let’s arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.’
This is so good. How the hand of God is upon us. If we are walking with Him in obedience it is. How is this so?
We first get His favor when we accept Christ. He loves all and wants to give that love to everyone. “For God so loved the world that He gave His Son, so who ever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” His love and favor is there waiting for us.
When I put my trust in Him there was a difference. He was in my thoughts and conversations. He began to guide me.
The obedience part took a while. I wasn’t sure what was Him or my guilty conscience. Grace smoothed that out.
Getting plugged into Him involves reading the bible. It’s His Word. It’s also alive and puts desires in our hearts and thoughts in our minds. The Parable of the Sower explains it.
As we are in the bible it’s as if we are conversing with Him. Not like with a person, but the way we would with God. As we read it we are hearing Him. Passages will come alive. We get ideas. Some of them are from Him. We ask and test some. The ones from Him He will bless with success. That’s what we see with Nehemiah. He was burdened with the news about the Jews. He spoke to the king about it. The king gave him permission and resources.
A few more words about obedience. We aren’t always 100% certain something is from God. We pray about it. That often resolves it. We can test it by stepping out. For example, the king could have said no. Because he said yes, we can assume God wanted him to do it. We still pray and step out. We become like a pin ball. We go in a particular direction, then we hit a closed door, so we bounce off in a different direction. We try the next door. Some times it opens other times it bounces off.
What comes with being in this relationship is peace and joy in our hearts. Psalm 16:11 says, “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.” This is also confirmation that God is with us and we are in His way. A closed door could be a troubled spirit.
As we walk with Him doing His will we are building His Kingdom. It’s being established in our hearts and in the lives of others.
Thank You, Lord, that You want to have a relationship with us and You want to work in our lives and in the lives of others. Like Nehemiah, Your favor will be upon us.