Today in God's Word—April 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
April 15, Nehemiah 2
And the king granted what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. - Nehemiah 2:8
One of the many hats an effective leader must wear is that of the vision-caster. The best and most effective leaders have an idea, a dream they want to make reality. The biggest ideas and the most impactful dreams are usually beyond a single individual's purse or power to achieve. So they call others to join with them, to provide needed funding for the project and to do the actual work. The greatest statesmen, patriots and leaders of a nation are people with such dreams and plans. They must also be able to communicate and persuade others to join them on their mission to make their dream a reality.
Chapter 2 showcases the vision-casting skill of Nehemiah. True, Nehemiah was a man of fervent prayer and dependence on God. He recognized the hand of God as the dominant force behind his successful efforts. But he had and used his ability to communicate his vision to the king of Persia as well as the people back in Judah. He had to get others to see what he saw before the first block could be laid in the rebuilding project.
Four months after the bad news came from Judah, the time came for Nehemiah to make his pitch to the king. After a few days of mourning described in Chapter 1, he returned to work. He had been able to put on a happy face at work for some time. It was illegal for any servant of a Persian king to appear sad in the king's presence. But finally Nehemiah could no longer hide his real feelings from the king. When the king asked why he was sad, Nehemiah had his chance. He did not call Jerusalem by name. But he did appeal to the king on the basis of their common humanity and respect for their ancestors, calling Jerusalem “the place of my fathers' graves." He asked permission to take a leave of absence to go rebuild the place.
So, a servant asked the king he served to reverse an earlier decree. And not just any king, but a Persian king whose word could not be changed. In addition to his leave of absence, he also asked for visas, a security detail and funding for materials to accomplish his project. He got everything he asked for! Nehemiah knew the hand of God was on him when the king agreed to his bold request.
The governors and leaders of the Samaritans hated the Jews who lived among them. They were not happy when Nehemiah arrived to get the rebuilding project in Jerusalem underway. They could not interfere with Nehemiah's journey or mission because he was there under authority and protection from their king.
Nehemiah was quiet among the people at first when he returned. He went out at night alone to survey the damage and see what needed to be done to build the wall. Then he met with the people and explained how God had blessed them with this opportunity to build, and how the king of Persia himself had underwritten and approved the project. They were jubilant at the news. Their zeal overflowed as they said, “Let us rise up and build." They prepared to begin the project. The leaders of their enemies mocked and jeered. Nehemiah replied that God was with them, they were going to build this wall, and that the nay-saying opponents had no say in the matter.
Nehemiah was indeed an eloquent and persuasive dream-caster. Let's notice one other outstanding but understated quality about Nehemiah. We know Nehemiah was a man of prayer because of the beautiful prayer recorded in Chapter 1. But not all of Nehemiah’s prayers were long and eloquent. Did you notice the short little prayer prayed between the king's question and Nehemiah’s answer? "Then the king said to me, 'what are you requesting?' So I prayed to the God of heaven." People of prayer don't just pray at a designated time, saving up their prayers for a really long, detailed,
impassioned petition to God. Instead, in addition to those set aside times, they utter little spontaneous prayers that may only be a sentence and only take a moment. The human mind is able to do that kind of thing. And God is more than able to receive and answer such prayers from his people.
How much more could you and I pray during the day if we saw and took such opportunities to invoke the blessing or ask the favor of God in such moments? Such constant praying would help us remain calm under pressure, and be patient in delays. Praying many moments a day would help us be cheerful as we interact with others, and be humble before God as we remember we are blessedly dependent on him.
Great leaders like Nehemiah are people with big vision who can effectively communicate to others. I suspect that the truly great ones are people who realize how much they need God as they lead, and talk to the Lord often during the course of their busy and challenging days.
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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