My Generation

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd September 21, 2018 - Filed in Devotional - 6,034 views
  However you are just in all that is come on us; for you have dealt truly, but we have done wickedly; neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept your law, nor listened to your commandments and your testimonies with which you did testify against them. For they have not served you in their kingdom, and in your great goodness that you gave them, and in the large and fat land which you gave before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.' (Nehemiah 9:33 WEB).
  
  Nehemiah grew up in the school of hard knocks. He was a servant living as an exile in a foreign country. Jerusalem, the capital city of his country and the home of his father's, had been burned and looted. It was a very dark time for Israel and it appeared hopeless. What difference could one man make when such a powerful nation had destroyed his country and carried them off to be servants?
  
  Then just as Esther was put in a position of influence for 'such a time as this' (Esther 4:14), Nehemiah was placed as the cupbearer to the king of the foreign land. Nehemiah was deeply moved for Jerusalem, and he begged God to give him favor. He prayed: 'Lord, I beg you, let now your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who delight to fear your name; and please prosper your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.' (Nehemiah 1:11).
  
  Nehemiah's prayer was answered. The king took notice, and he told Nehemiah to return and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. He even provided the materials for it. Nehemiah was in the right position, he had the right influence, and he was given the favor to accomplish that task. It was a bad job that no one else wanted. It was dangerous, and he was under constant threat and ridicule. When they began to rebuild the wall, one person had to work, while another held a spear as they waited for the impending attack, but in a record 52 days, the wall around Jerusalem was completed and everyone knew that God was behind it.
  
  Nehemiah and those with him acknowledged that their fathers had messed up. They had been rebellious and not followed the Lord, but instead chased after other gods. That is why their country was overrun and they were all taken away into exile. This younger generation repented, they fasted, and they began to seek God earnestly.
  
  Nehemiah prayed and reminded God of His own words to Moses: 'Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you trespass, I will scatter you abroad among the peoples: but if you return to me, and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts were in the uttermost part of the heavens, yet will I gather them from there, and will bring them to the place that I have chosen, to cause my name to dwell there.' (Nehemiah 1:7'9).
  
  Nehemiah and all those who were with him wrote a covenant and sealed it: 'Now those who sealed were: Nehemiah the governor, the son of Hacaliah, and Zedekiah,' (Nehemiah 10:1). God blessed them, restored them, protected them, and they completed their work of rebuilding the wall.
  
  Nehemiah lived in a time when his fathers had dropped the ball and destroyed their nation, but he manned up, took a stand and said: 'Not on my watch.' They began to reverse the damage done by their fathers. They rebuilt the wall that had been torn down. They were the generation that began the restoration of Israel.
  
  We are put here for such a time as this, and when we connect with God, we will find our true purpose. Let us follow the example of Nehemiah and take a stand for God, even when everyone else around us has forsaken Him. Let us be the generation that seeks God like no other, the generation that begins the restoration.
  
  Prayer: Heavenly Father I thank You for today, for where I am, and for all that You have blessed me with. You are an Awesome God and there is none like You. I get excited at the things that You do. Show Your power in my life. Lead me, teach me and help me take a stand for you, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
  
  Note: For those who may be interested, we recently published a new book here called "Forty Days of Love", which is a 40-day devotional dedicated to God's amazing and enduring love for His people. You can find that and Pastor Dion's other books, as well as books by our member authors at our RHM Bookstore
  
  
  

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