Dr. Mike Murphy
March 19, 2022
The stars that night filled the sky. Their beauty did not escape him, and their elegance mesmerized him. The heavens flickered with their presence, drawing his attention to look toward the One who had made them. Who had placed each one there with a reason and a purpose in mind. As he stared at those stars, he seemed to have counted each of them that night. Sleep had escaped him, as the anxiety of what the coming day would bring filled his mind. As he lay looking up that night, the stars had been his escape, the one thing that keep his mind from what tomorrow held. As he focused on the stars, he realized how many of his forefathers had seen the stars as he was now seeing them. Looking up at them from the same land, the same angle at which he now saw them. For years he had wondered if he would ever see the stars as his father had seen them. His whole life he had seen the stars from a distant land, a land the generations before him had never known. A land that had filled his life, but a land that did not hold his heart. But as he looked up at the stars again, his heart sang, and his eyes filled with tears. For the first time in his life, he knew he was home.
For weeks he had traveled to see those stars, to see the land that his father had so often walked. The only land his grandfather had ever known. The land his grandfather’s grandfather had fought for. That so many of his ancestors had given their life for, and so many of his distant relatives had yearned for. A land that the One who made the stars had drawn them to, and promised to them. The same land that he had prayed for a lifetime that he would have the chance to see. He had prayed that if just for one night, he could look at the stars as he now looked up at them.
Tomorrow, he did not know what would lie ahead of him. The task that now brought him here was overwhelming. He had heard the reports of what tomorrow would show him. The devastation that awaited him in the city that laid just over the hills before him. The city he had heard about his whole life. The city that filled his dreams, and was at the heart of many of his desires. The glorious city that had filled all the stories he was told of in his youth. The city that once held his heroes, and the city that held the graves of his relatives. But those were worries for the next day. Tonight he was thankful, thankful to the Lord for letting him just see the stars.
The next day would challenge him. He must begin to restore the city, to rebuild the once great walls that protected that city. Others had been called to task in the city before him. But he knew the importance of task the Lord had called him to. Without walls, a city was not a city. Unprotected, waiting to fall to the devastation and destruction that now held it again. But he knew he would not fail. He knew this, because he knew that God would not let him fail. God’s handwriting was on this city, and he knew that the Lord had a plan and a purpose for this city. He knew that what God desired, what God foretold, would be accomplished.
For all the years of his life, he had heard the stories of the Lord, of His land, and of His city. Stories that always lingered in the back of his mind, stories that were celebrated each year. But as he had made his way home, those stories came to life. He saw many of the places that had filled those stories. His path had led him over the footsteps of his forefathers, footsteps that filled the joy and the tears of those stories. But today, they had become more than stories. Today, he saw firsthand that the Lord had not abandoned his people, and that God had not forgotten them. For not one day had He not walked each step with them, wanting nothing more than for them to again turn to Him. His people may have forgotten God, but he now knew that God had not for a moment forgotten them. And as he stared again at the stars that night, he once again remembered the One who made the stars. And as he looked at those stars in amazement, he promised he would never again turn his face from the One who had made them.
I love to read the story of Nehemiah, and I can only imagine what it must have been like as he returned to Jerusalem. The emotions that filled him, the task ahead that drove him. Nehemiah’s story is a story of devotion, a story of forgiveness, a story of promise, a story of faithfulness, and yes, a story of love. A story whose words stir my heart today the same as if I was travelling with Nehemiah those many years ago. His words are more than just a story, in each word we see assurance and attainment of God’s Word. In each word we see the hope that He has for everyone of us.
Nehemiah shows us just what our faith should be, and what God can do with that faith. Nehemiah’s story starts the way each of our stories should go. When Nehemiah heard what had become of the city of his forefathers, Nehemiah did the one thing that could bring the greatest of results, the one thing that could address the problem immediately. Nehemiah humbled himself and prayed(Nehemiah 1:4-10). Nehemiah showed a willingness to put his words into action, and turned to the only One who could fulfill those words and put purpose to those actions. In Nehemiah’s prayer we see him praise God, give thanks to God, repent before God, ask specific help of God, and make a commitment to God. Nehemiah’s prayer teaches us three things. It shows us that any problem we may be facing, it not a problem that God is not there to help us with. It shows us that with God’s help, there is nothing we cannot overcome. And it shows us that we have to be willing to allow God to work through us in order to often hear the answers to our prayers.
Nehemiah knew the promises that God had given his forefathers, and his people(Nehemiah 1:5). Nehemiah also knew that God’s Word was unchanging, unfailing, and the promise He had made in the past held just as true as Nehemiah prayed. “Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.”, Nehemiah 1:8-9. Nehemiah trusted those words, and Nehemiah knew that God had not forgotten those words.
And forget, God had not! Nehemiah restored the walls of Jerusalem in record time with the Lord’s help! In fifty-two days, God accomplished through Nehemiah what many a man told him could never be accomplished. He restored the walls and the gates that protected the earthly City of God, the place the Lord had chose to dwell on this earth. What man had seen as impossible, God made simple. And what man had destroyed, God made anew. God had not forgotten His promise to His people, and the people saw that promise come to life as the walls went back up. But through Nehemiah, the Lord had not just rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, He put into action another plan. A plan wrapped in another promise. A plan that would forever change the world!
As we read the words of Nehemiah, and how he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem and the city, the words of Daniel jumps off the pages at us. Another who had found himself exiled in Babylon, far from the city of his forefathers, wrote down the words that the Lord gave him. Words that would foretell God’s ultimate plan for all mankind. A plan that would bring an end to transgression and sin, that would atone for all wickedness, a plan that would bring everlasting righteousness, a plan that would conclude and seal all other prophecies, and a plan that would anoint the Most Holy Place.
Daniel’s seventy week prophecy(Daniel 9:24-27) gives us incredible specifics. The angel Gabriel gave Daniel the exact times this prophecy would start and would end. “ So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”, Daniel 9:25. Nehemiah rebuilt the walls so the city would be protected, and then spent years overseeing the redevelopment of the city. Little did Nehemiah know where his faithfulness and willingness would lead. Little did he know that his desire to put his prayers into action would be used in such a powerful way. Little did he know that the decree he sought from the king to return and rebuild Jerusalem would lead to the greatest promise the world has, and will ever know. The next words that Gabriel gave Daniel from the Lord, tell us where this prophecy would lead. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing”, Daniel 9:26. His faithful actions would trigger the timetable that would lead to Christ and His Crucifixion. And as Gabriel would go on to give Daniel, to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the time period we know as the Tribulation, and the second return and reign of Christ(Daniel 9:26-27). With each stone that Nehemiah laid to rebuild Jerusalem, his faithful actions paved the way for the Promised One! God had not forgotten Nehemiah, nor had He forgotten the plans and promises that Nehemiah faithful actions would make him a part of!
The same can be said of each of us today! When we are willing, there is no limit on what God can do with us and through us. Each day, God seeks in us what He found in Nehemiah. A heart that is filled with a hope that can only come from above, a faith that is never forgotten and ever present, and a willingness that is diligent to serve Him. And as He finds those things in us, nothing is impossible with what He can accomplish through us!
Many of you may have heard of Joni Eareckson Tada, but few know her story. As a teenager, she found herself doing what teenagers do. One day, while swimming, she dove into a lake the same as she probably had many times before. But on that day as she dove, her head hit bottom, breaking her neck and leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. For months afterwards, she lived a life that was filled with despair. It was during this time, that she found herself having to lay face down, staring at only the floor below her for a three week period. And if that was not trying enough, during one of these weeks she came down with a case of severe flu. For several days, she found that not being able to move was nothing compared to not being able to breathe!
With all she faced, she felt that God had abandoned her. But what she came to learn, was that the Lord had not for a day forgotten her, that the whole time He was standing right there beside her. With a brush in her teeth, the Lord showed her that He still had an incredible purpose and plan for her life. She has went on to paint many incredible paintings. She has wrote over fifty books, and has a ministry that helps disabled people the world over see the purpose that the Lord has for their lives. She has hosted a radio show, and spoke the world over about what Christ has done for her life. And she has sang with an incredible voice in an award winning movie. Each day her presence reminds us that with the Lord, nothing is impossible. And each day she shows us that if we are willing, the Lord can use us in ways that are nothing short of amazing!
As you read the words of this article, I pray it will lead you to read the words of Nehemiah. That it will inspire you to overcome, to not let man put limits on your life, the same way Joni Eareckson Tada has. I pray that each of their stories will show you, that no matter what you may face, God is always there. He will never abandon you, and He does not even know how to forget you. I pray that each of you will come to know, it is not enough that we talk to God, we must also desire to walk with God. Make His steps, your steps. With each step, I pray you will see that there is nothing but beauty on the path where it will lead you. And with each step of that path, your life will be filled with opportunities to bring others to see the beauty of that path also. I pray that each day,with each step, that walk will lead you to incredible places, to accomplish amazing things in His Name. I pray that He will find you with a willingness without limits, and a faith for Him that will know no boundaries. And I pray that with each day of your life, you will not forget God. Because each day that goes by with God, you are never forgotten!
Praying the Lord will find more than a little Nehemiah in each of you!
