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JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE NEHEMIAH Day 1 – Broken Nehemiah 1 Throughout our lives we come across many broken things, we even break some of those things. We’re told from a young age to take care of the things we’re given so they will last. In some cases we are able to pass those things to our children and grandchildren we cherished from our childhood. Nehemiah was a servant in the king’s household, a cupbearer. He met some of the men who had gone to Jerusalem to rebuild the house of the Lord and talked to them about the state of Jerusalem, and what he heard caused him to cry out to God. He learned the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and burned, and he brought the matter before God in fasting and prayer. Jerusalem was the city God chose to put His name there, a place of beauty and status among the nations of the earth because God was found there. However, with Israel’s downward spiral into sin and straying from God by worshiping false gods and idols, and practicing the rituals of the nations surrounding them, God sent His people into captivity. In doing so Nebuchadnezzar had broken down the walls and burned the gates and destroyed the temple of God. It was the report about Jerusalem Nehemiah heard from the remnant that lived in Judah and caused him to seek God’s grace and favor regarding Jerusalem. As Christians our lives are temples of the Holy Spirit. When we stray from God’s Word and turn to the ways of the world, we tear down the walls, and burn the gates so that God cannot be found anywhere in our lives. When that happens, it takes something drastic to bring our attention back to God. A word spoken by strangers, a message we hear by accident, desperate news from family members will prick our hearts and we will remember the way it was when we lived our lives for God. It is then we reach out to God, seeking His face as we determine to build up the walls and gates of praise and worship in our lives once again. It is never too late to return to God. It is never too late to fall on your face and confess your sin before God, just as Nehemiah did for the people of Israel who strayed so far from God. It is never too late to seek God’s grace and favor. We can turn our broken lives into a thing of beauty once again when we turn our lives back to God. Let’s pray: Father, take my broken walls and gates and repair them as I come before You confessing my sin and once again seek Your grace and favor in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 27 January 2016 by Valerie Jean Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay