Team Bible Reading and Sharing for June 2023

316Judith

Hi Everyone,

I invite you to share your Bible Reading and some thoughts about what you read. I am using an online Bible Reading App called YouVersion- Holy Bible. Hope you enjoy. I look forward to seeing you’re Bible Reading and Thoughts Shared.

Here is some of my Reading from today!


Bible Reading:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Matthew 20:16

Thoughts Shared from todays reading:

Strength In Our Weakness

Everything in our being tells us to be strong.

The world tells us we need to be on top, be the best, be number one. We carry this burden in our jobs, our relationships and our identities. So, it is only natural we would think of weakness as the exact opposite of strength.

And yet the Bible contradicts this ideology with one simple statement.

“The last will be first, and the first will be last.”

Our weakness is turned into strength by the grace of God. In admitting our weakness, we get out of our own way and create an opportunity for God to be glorified. We step back in order to showcase God and His perfect and almighty strength.

Your surgery process is a perfect example of this. Having the surgery is, in itself, an admittance of our imperfection. Our bodies will always fail us because of their fleshly imperfections. But we can find joy in the fact that there is strength to be found in this weakness.

Even the apostle Paul embraced his imperfection and suffering. He admitted that through a thorn in his side, he was reminded of God’s greater strength and power. God humbled Paul in order to reveal His power working in him and through him. It was God who was strong, not Paul.

If you approach this recovery time with the idea that you can do it alone, that your strength will be enough to carry you through to restoration, you’ll miss out on a greater opportunity. You’ll miss out on the chance for God to work through you and for you.

But just simply being aware of your weakness is not enough. You have to take this one step further, perhaps the hardest step of all, admitting that not only is your body weak and imperfect, but to BOAST in this weakness. To admit that because of our weakness, we need God to step in and be our strength.

Praise God for the work He is doing in you. Praise God for the wisdom He granted the doctor during your surgery. Praise God for the work still to be done, that both your body and spirit would be open to His perfect healing. And praise God that He is your strength. That you can boast in your weakness because His strength is sufficient.

What are your physical weaknesses right now?

What are your spiritual weaknesses right now?

How can God's strength show through in these weaknesses?

316Judith

Bible Reading

Acts 3:1-10
2 Corinthians 1:3
Jeremiah 17:7
Psalms 144:15

Commentary Thoughts

The Quick Fix

Are you looking for a quick fix?

Think about this: are you expecting certain results from this surgery? If your results stray from your expectations, will it diminish your happiness?

Take the beggar in Acts 3. Having suffered from a disability since birth and unable to do much else, he spends his day pleading with those around him for money. Positioned outside the temple at his usual begging spot, he comes across two of Jesus’ disciples. Just like he would to any other passerby, the man asks the disciples for money.

And it’s no change of routine when Peter, one of the disciples, answers that he has no money to give the man. We can imagine that this isn’t the first time the beggar’s plea has been rejected. Maybe he’s even already moved his attention from the disciples to scan the area for another potential patron.

The beggar didn’t even consider that there may be something better, albeit different, then what he was asking for! He was focused on the results that he felt would best serve him. He was looking for a quick fix to help him get by. A worldly solution for a worldly problem.

But it’s what happens next that changes the beggar’s life forever.

Peter offers the man true healing. He was able to give the man not what he expected, but much more than he could have ever imagined. Although he was still a poor man, he realized this gift was far better than silver or gold, he had been given the gift of restoration. He leapt with joy, praising God!

Are you prepared to praise God even if the outcome of your surgery is different than you expected? Are you ready to embrace the plan of restoration God has for you, though it may be different than the plan you have for yourself? Is your happiness rooted in the results of this surgery or in the restoration God has to offer you?

Reflect on today’s readings and ask yourself where your expectations lie. In the hands of man? Or in the hands of God?

316Judith

Romans 12
Key Verse
1 and 2

1 Timothy 4:8

1Corinthians 6:19-20

Your Body, The Temple

Ever heard the saying “my body is a temple”? As weird as it sounds, it’s actually biblical. First Corinthians tells us that our “bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.” Because the Holy Spirit dwells within, our bodies are considered temples to God. And because of this, we are called to honor God with our bodies.

However, if we were to present this idea to the Old Testament Jews, you would probably receive some crazy stares back. Because to them, the temple was the holiest of places, the place where God’s spirit dwelled. What they believed was the complete opposite of what the new testament tells us, that our bodies are the renewed temple.

John 1 tells us of the beginnings of a new covenant. A covenant of grace and one where the Holy Spirit dwells inside each of us.

That’s a pretty incredible thought. To think of our bodies as temples for the Lord. And if we held the same reverence for our bodies that the Old Testament Jews held for the temple, you would probably look at yourself a little differently. But maybe the current physical status of your body doesn’t feel like a temple to you. Maybe it feels more like crumbling temple than a holy temple.

That’s okay. Because what makes our bodies holy is nothing that we could ever do. But the fact that God’s Spirit dwells within us. This holiness lies in the hands of God. We can rest knowing that no matter how hard we try or how bad we mess up, it is God’s Spirit that makes us holy.

So even though your body may feel broken and imperfect, God still views you as His holy temple. A temple worth dwelling in. A temple worth dying for. And a temple worth loving.

How can you use this time of recovery that your body needs to build up the temple within you?

316Judith

Bible Reading:

Ephesians 3:20
Hebrews 12:1-2
Acts 20:23-24
Philippians 4:13

Commentary Thoughts:

Run The Race

You’ve made it through surgery and your body is on the road to recovery. But there is still a greater work yet to be done. You may feel overwhelmed as you look at the long, winding road before you. You’re probably experiencing pain during your recovery as well. But without the hard recovery step, we wouldn’t experience the prize of restoration. And before you can step into recovery, surgery has to take place. Each step is necessary in its own way.

The truth is that recovery is hard work. Just like our relationship with Christ can be hard work. It takes effort and intentionality. But in the end, it’s worth everything we put in.

This surgery is merely a bump in your race. One of many bumps you will probably face in your lifetime. Therefore, endurance is necessary. Endurance to run the race set before us and run it well. Endurance to face each bump with confidence. The kind of confidence that comes from the Lord.

We can have confidence that Jesus carries our burdens for us, allowing us to run further and faster than we ever could on our own. Because it is through Christ’s power alone that we are able to experience restoration and healing. Just as He endured the cross, He endures our pain.

As you continue in your recovery season, continue to look to Jesus, the perfecter of our faith, for encouragement and renewed strength. Continue to run the race set before you with endurance, determined to honor God with everything you do and remembering that He is the strength inside us. He is the one who we are able to do all things through. Because He is able to do far more than we could ever imagine in our wildest dreams.

316Judith

Bible Reading

James 2:14-26

Commentary Thoughts

Faith is measured by your feet, not by your feelings. Feelings change based on circumstances, or how things are going on around you. If times are good, you’re going to be up; when times are bad, you’re going to be down. You can’t base your faith on your feelings; you must base it on your feet.

That means faith is measurable. It’s not a mysterious thing that you can’t tell whether you have it or not. You can always know which way your feet are moving, which way your decisions are taking you, so your faith follows that. When you define faith by the moving of your feet, then it becomes very real in your life. In fact, you can be operating by faith even when the feelings are in the opposite direction. Also, you can feel full of faith when you’re actually faithless, because your feet are not moving at all.

So, become a person of great faith by being a person of great movement. The bigger you make God in your life and your movements consistent with the scope of His size, the greater your faith will be. When you move in concert with a big God, you really are exercising big faith. If you keep God small, then you’re going to have many steps, but you won’t be exercising much faith.

Keep moving with your feet, in spite of how you feel. The greater the movement, the greater the faith.

316Judith

Bible Reading

John 7:17
Joshua 24:15

Commentary Thoughts:

Faith involves a choice. You will either choose to go God’s way or not, and choice involves your will. You and I have been given an opportunity. God’s sovereignty has allowed us to choose to follow Him, because He doesn’t want us to be robots. He wants us to be creatures that He created in His own image who can choose to follow Him or not. Moses chose to follow God, and not to follow sin or the cultural norms of his day.

Perhaps you’ve already made wrong choices, or even faithless choices. The good news of the grace of God is that you can change your choice and decide to go God’s way. The question is, will you choose now to be a person of faith and not follow the sins of your own life any longer? Will you choose to follow God and to say, “Lord, not my will but Thy will be done”?

For a moment, it may seem like a loss to choose God over your own self-interests. But don’t be deceived. Choosing God promises to be the one best choice over all other choices you will ever make.

316Judith

Bible Reading: Hebrews chapter 11

Commentary Thoughts:

The Bible abounds with people who triumph
through faith—a whole litany of people who decided to trust God over themselves, over other people and over their circumstances. The beauty of faith’s triumph is that you get the benefit of divine approval.

It doesn’t mean everything goes smoothly, but it says of all the others who are people of faith, that they triumphed because they got a divine okay, they got a God-stamp of approval.

And when you get the highest approval possible in creation, then that means you are victorious and you are successful, regardless of how other’s circumstances are at any given moment.

I wish I could tell you that a life of faith means a problem-free life, but that’s not the world in which we live, that’s heaven. On earth, there are going to be ups and downs, but you still can be approved. That’s when God says, “You did it and there’s nothing that will make you feel better or be better than My divine approval.”

So, let’s be approved of God, because we’re going to believe Him, even when believing Him is the last thing we want to believe. Walk by faith, not by sight, so that you can be part of the others who are approved of God.

316Judith

Bible Reading:

Genesis 7
1 Corinthians 1:20

Commentary Notes:

Like Noah, we’re all called upon to exercise faith in the most inconvenient of times. Noah had
never seen rain and yet he was to act based on

what God said, even though it made him look very foolish.

Not only that, but faith is often anti-cultural. Noah had to go against the whole community in which he lived and the world in which he existed. Faith will make you seem like a loner sometimes. It will make others think that you are a fool, but we see at the end of Noah’s story that he was not the foolish one. Those who rejected him were actually the foolish ones.

So, you walk with God even if it makes you odd in the culture. As long as you are obeying God, even if it’s something you’ve never experienced before, you will be walking the right path.

God cannot be put in a box. He will blow your mind. Let Him blow your mind. If you have to build an ark on dry land, or something else outlandish, let yourself be led by faith. It’s okay, because when you obey Him by faith, you set yourself up for not only a miracle, but the covering up of your own family, even when there is destruction in the culture taking place all around you.

Obey by faith, and watch God work..

316Judith

Bible Reading:

John 26:13
Proverbs 16:9

Commentary:

Let’s pray and thank God that He will be our guide through life. He is not a God who keeps us guessing but will reveal His way so that we can walk in it.

Holy God, you always provide a light for me; to direct me and guide me on the path which you have chosen as the best way for me to go.

I lift up your name in praise, knowing that I can depend on you to show me your way. I thank you for your wisdom, which stretches even into the future in order to guide and direct me toward my best possible outcome.

I love you, God, and I want to know how to follow you better. May your glory and goodness overshadow my doubts and confusion. Break through all my questions and show me the path toward life, peace, and love.

I praise you that you have always given me more than I deserve, and that you offer a love that guides me every step of the way. In Jesus' name, amen.

What are you thankful for today?

316Judith

Bible Reading:

Psalm 32

Commentary:

Let’s pray, asking God to prepare our hearts to follow Him wherever He leads. For God asks for our obedience even as we ask for His guidance. We often wander off the path, so we ask Him to forgive us and lead us by the hand into what He has for us.

Father, You know the path You have chosen for me. You know where I need to go to fulfill the purpose You have established for me. You know the path I should take and the decisions I should make that will enable me to live out my destiny.

And yet, even though I know this about You, I still often choose to go my own way and prefer my own wisdom over Yours. Forgive me for this short-sightedness, which limits my potential to fulfill all You have for me.

I confess that I have often failed to follow You and have chosen my own way. Forgive me, O Lord, for the pride that wells up within me and causes me to think that I know better than You, rather than truly seeking Your guidance and direction each step of the way. Lord, teach me to listen and obey. In Jesus' name, amen.

What decisions have you recently made that have taken you off the right path? What steps can you take to follow in faithfulness?

316Judith

Bible Reading

Isaiah 58
Isaiah 30

Commentary

Let us pray and recommit ourselves to following God at all times. Let us be grateful for His guidance and always seek His will and His way.

God knows exactly what we need and where we ought to go, so let’s commit ourselves anew to a life of trust.

Lord, thank You that I can trust You to guide me with patience, understanding, peace, and love.

Thank You that Your guidance flows from Your wisdom and kindness. Your guidance is always perfect.

You guide me toward growth and maturity. You guide me toward life and hope. Thank You for the wisdom of Your direction and for making me aware of how to access Your guidance through Your Word.

I ask You to guide me also on what to say so that my words will minister grace to others and be seasoned with love.

I ask You to guide me on how to spend my time each day so that I am using it wisely to advance Your kingdom and develop my own spiritual maturity.

Lord, please shepherd me as I make choices - both large and small - each day. Teach me how to discern Your guidance more clearly and yield to Your leading. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In what areas of your life are you most in need of God’s guidance today?

316Judith

Bible Reading

Psalm 91 📖✝️

No commentary notes today

316Judith

Bible Reading:

Ephesians chapter 2
Key Verses: 8 to 10

James 2:18

Commentary Notes:

Sometimes we mix up the roles of salvation and
faith, so I want to set the record straight.

When you accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior by placing your faith in Him alone for the forgiveness of your sins, you are given eternal life.

But while you trust Christ through faith, you are now supposed to live your life by faith.

These are two very different things.

Trusting Christ for salvation is akin to receiving a gift.

Living by faith is doing a work.

That’s why James says faith without works is dead (James 2:26). He isn’t talking about getting to heaven; he’s talking about getting heaven down into you.

Accepting Christ as your Savior takes you to heaven; living by faith brings heaven’s power and God’s experiential presence and authority to you on earth.

It allows you to see God enter history by showing up in your circumstances.

When you live by faith, God brings the supernatural to bear in the midst of the natural situations of your existence on earth.

In your own words, what is the relationship between faith and works?

316Judith

Bible Reading

Jeremiah 32:27
Mark 10:27:

Commentary Thoughts:

Unfortunately, people often confuse faith and
works. As a result, many Christians don’t live by faith, which has the accompaniment of works. Rather, they live by sight while calling it faith.

They say they trust God. They wait on Him for every move. They resign themselves to living without movement or momentum, expecting God to do everything for them. Yet while God did everything for you and me through the gift of salvation, He expects us to do the work of faith—made manifest by obedience to Him throughout our lives.

Faith is so powerful that it can flip the natural order of things. In Hebrews 11:35 we read that “women received back their dead by resurrection.” This is referring to those who were brought back to life by Elijah and Elisha. Yet, you and I will never get to see God flip the order of things in our lives if we continue to view life through the lens of this world’s perspective.

Living by faith means acting before you see the result you desire. When you do, you get to experience God reversing things in your life that are humanly impossible to reverse.

How have you seen God “flip” the natural order of things through faith?

316Judith

Bible Reading:
Hebrews 11: 39-40
1 Corinthians 3:11-14

Commentary Notes:

Sometimes living by faith will make you come across as different. You may even appear weird to other people, just as Noah did.

But as Hebrews 11:38 says, those who live by faith are the men and women of whom “the world was not worthy.”

What makes the world not worthy of certain people?

It’s when they live so high in the spiritual realm that those around them in the earthly realm often can’t understand what they’re doing or why.

The world thinks they’re odd. They think they’ve lost their minds. They call them fanatics. Freaks.

Or any other name people can come up with.

But the author of Hebrews reminds us the world, consisting of those who live according to the precepts of worldliness, is not worthy of those who truly live by faith. It’s not worthy of those who know how to function from a higher vantage point.

Those who live with an eternal perspective outwit, outplay and outlast those who don’t. That doesn’t mean they will always get their rewards while on earth, but in eternity, they will be richly rewarded.

Faith gives us a future to look forward to.

What’s the best way to respond to people who don’t understand how your faith affects your life?

316Judith

Bible Reading: I am reading through the Book of Ezra…

Ezra chapter 1

Commentary:

A Proclamation from the King

The exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem. (v. 11)

Exiles: those forced to leave their native country—banished from their homes against their will. For the Jews, exile began when, in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem, and took captives back to resettle throughout the Babylonian empire. This captivity was a clear consequence of the peoples’ sin and continuing worship of false idols throughout their land. They paid dearly for this sin; for all intents and purposes, the people no longer existed as a nation.

But while the Jews had been unfaithful to God, God was still faithful to them! According to his promise to Jeremiah, the Jews would be brought back to their homeland after 70 years of captivity (Jer. 25:11-12).

This is what was taking place in Ezra 1:

Cyrus the Persian, who had conquered Babylon, issued a proclamation allowing the Jews to return to rebuild “the house of God that is in Jerusalem” (v. 4).

Cyrus restored the vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from the temple so that they could once again be used in service.

This was a daunting task for the survivors who chose to return to their homeland. The journey was perilous. The city was in ruins, and the temple itself no longer existed. Would it be possible to rebuild? How different would this new life be from their lives as captives in Babylon? After so many years in a pagan land, could they
remain faithful among the ruins?

As you pray, thank God for his faithfulness to his people, and trust in him.

316Judith

Bible Reading:

Ezra 4:17-24

Commentary:

A Pernicious Lie

Then the work on the house of God that is in Jerusalem stopped. (v. 24)

Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote, “A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies.” Certainly, it can be one of the most difficult to squelch. You can refute a blatant lie with the facts, but a half-truth lives on in suspicion and innuendo, persisting despite your best efforts to silence it.

The letter written to King Artaxerxes by the enemies of Judah was such a lie (see vv. 11-16).

From the king’s perspective, it could be said that Jerusalem had “a long history of revolt”; the Jews had resisted both the Assyrians and the Babylonians as a vassal state.

But the letter didn’t mention that the Jews were actually obeying the decree of Cyrus the Persian by resettling the city and rebuilding God’s temple.

Rebellion was far from their minds. Nevertheless, the letter accomplished its purpose; the king called for the work in Jerusalem to cease.

The Jews’ enemies took this response and quickly forced the Jews to stop working. For 16 years, the temple and the city walls languished in disrepair. This was a real blow to the people of God.

Discouragement is real, and we can experience setbacks along the way. But God had a plan for Jerusalem, and this roadblock was only temporary. Jerusalem would be rebuilt; the temple would be completed, despite kings' opposition and enemies' persistence! His purposes always come to pass.

As you pray, confess any discouragement you are experiencing today.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ezra 6:1-12

Commentary Thoughts:

A Project Renewed

Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt. (v. 3)

The work of rebuilding the temple of God and the city of Jerusalem came to a screeching halt with the edict from King Artaxerxes. For years no progress was made, and inertia settled over the project. Then the word of the Lord came to two prophets—Haggai and Zechariah—urging the people to begin rebuilding the temple once again (Ezra 5:1-2). The people obeyed and did just that, even though there was still fear about what the king would do when he learned about the work.

But this time, the king responded much more favorably towards the Jews. The Babylonian archives were searched, and the proclamation from Cyrus the Persian was rediscovered. The new king, Darius, not only allowed the work to continue; he instructed the other governors to pay for it from their revenues! Provision was made for the daily sacrifices at the temple. The king’s only stipulation: that sacrifices and prayers would be made continually “for the life of the king and his sons” (6:10).

Whether the road ahead seems easy, difficult, or even dangerous, God expects us to obey our calling. The God who made a path through the Red Sea, who turned the hearts of kings like Cyrus and Darius, is the same God who can make a way ahead for us. Sometimes, he does so in surprising ways!

As you pray, ask for faith to be obedient even when the path ahead is unclear.

316Judith

Bible Reading
Ezra 7:1-10

Commentary Notes

A Priest’s Arrival

Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach his statutes. (v. 10)

Eighty years after the first group of exiles arrived to rebuild and resettle Jerusalem, another group of Jews returned to their homeland. This group included priests, singers, gatekeepers, and other temple servants—ready, now that the temple was rebuilt, to lead Israel to worship their God. But foremost in this company was Ezra, the priest.

Ezra was the “real deal”—a Levitical priest in every sense of the word. His lineage, given in verses 1-5, returned to Aaron, the priest. He was a scholar, “skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given” (v. 6).

But Ezra’s knowledge of the Law was more than academic; verse 10 states that Ezra not only “set his heart to study the Law of the LORD,” but also to do what it said!

Moreover, this priest was determined to teach God’s law to the exiles in Jerusalem.

Artaxerxes authorized his mission, but God sent Ezra to his faithful among the ruins—to bring repentance, reform, and encouragement to their souls.

“The good hand of his God was on him” (v. 9). Ezra had a big task, but his desire to know God’s Word, to do it, and to teach it made him the right man for the job. The same desire can equip us to
do whatever we are called to do.

As you pray, seek to know God’s Word and to do it.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ezra chapter 9

Commentary Notes:

A Prayer of Confession

As soon as I heard this, I tore my garment and my cloak and pulled hair from my head and beard and sat appalled. (v. 3)

The book of Ezra suddenly gets very personal!

This section is written in the first person as Ezra reacts to the news of the nation’s continued sin.

We see what broke the heart of Ezra—a heart that was truly devoted to God.

After Ezra arrived in Jerusalem, the officials revealed what was happening in the community.

Some of the very sins that had led God to judge the nation were now being repeated—sins that had led to Jerusalem's destruction and its people's captivity.

Many of the Jews had intermarried with the idol-worshiping peoples of the region—a practice forbidden by God (see Deut. 7:3).

Ezra immediately saw the implications and the danger of the situation. He mourned for the nation’s sin, tearing his clothes and even pulling out his own hair and beard! His prayer before God is a remarkable example of what it means to confess true guilt and grief because of sin.

Ezra’s heart was clearly broken by the disobedience of his people—even the very leaders of the Jews. What breaks your heart as a follower of God? We are rarely convicted of sin the way that Ezra was—whether it’s our sin as a nation or our own personal sin. But Ezra, who loved God’s Word, was willing to be broken by what breaks the heart of God.

As you pray, consider the sins that break the heart of God.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Ezra 10:1-15

Commentary Notes:

A Penitent Population

We have broken faith with our God . . . but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. (v. 2)

When you drive past the rescue mission in my hometown, you see one word prominently displayed by the entrance. Hope is offered to those who come there. Sin is a destroyer, and repentance and restoration can be difficult and painful. But hope is at the center of all new beginnings.

Ezra’s grief so moved the people of Jerusalem that they, too, gathered together to weep bitterly.

Amid this mourning, Shecaniah reminded them that, although the nation’s sin was great, there was still “hope for Israel in spite of this” (v. 2).

A special assembly was called in Jerusalem. In the pouring rain, they vowed to separate themselves from the nations by putting away their foreign wives. This would be a messy, painful process.

Each situation was judged on a case-by-case basis; no doubt some women had already converted to the Jewish religion (see Ezra 6:21).

This process was necessary to keep Israel separate and holy—the nation God chose to bring the Messiah to the whole world.

Those who come to Christ in faith soon realize that it isn’t easy to leave behind a lifetime of sinful choices and their consequences. There will be pain, misunderstanding, and perhaps even broken relationships in the process.

The hope of a new beginning moves us forward—knowing it’s all worth it for a right relationship with God.

As you pray, remember the hope you have in Christ Jesus.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Nehemiah chapter 1

Commentary Thoughts

A Prayer from Nehemiah

O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant. (v. 11)

The book of Nehemiah is really the first-person memoirs of Nehemiah himself—a contemporary of Ezra, the priest.

The events of Chapter 1 took place about 13 years after Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem—90 years or so after the first Jewish exiles had returned to their native land.

When Nehemiah met with his brother Hanani, who was newly returned from Jerusalem, he heard distressing news.

Conditions in the city were bad; the city’s walls were still not rebuilt, and the people felt discouraged and humiliated.

While Nehemiah had an important position in Artaxerxes’s court as the king’s cupbearer, he still identified with God’s people in Jerusalem.

As he planned to become personally involved in the rebuilding of Jerusalem, he began in the best way possible—with prayer.

Before he made his request to the great Persian king, Nehemiah brought his petition to the great God and Creator of all things!

As he confessed his own sins and the sins of his people, he asked God to restore them to their homeland. Then he asked for mercy in the sight of the king himself.

We will find that Nehemiah was a wise man—a man who was both a planner and a doer. But before he attempted to do anything, Nehemiah was a man of prayer!

If God didn’t bless the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the situation would remain dire.

Nehemiah trusted that God would hear and answer his prayer.

As you pray, ask God to direct and bless your future plans.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Nehemiah 2:1-10

Commentary Thoughts

Plan for Repair

The king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. (v. 8)

Have you ever asked God for an “open door”? Paul wrote about God opening “a door” for the message of salvation (1 Cor. 16:9; Col. 3:5), and Christians often use this phrase when we are seeking similar opportunities. But are we willing to wait for God’s timing before we move ahead?

And when God does open that door, are we willing to act?

Nehemiah demonstrated both patience and preparation as he presented his request to the king. Some four months had passed since his initial prayer in chapter 1; no doubt Nehemiah had been waiting on God’s timing, looking for the moment when Artaxerxes would be receptive to his request.

The king noticed a change in his servant’s face and attitude, allowing Nehemiah to share his deep concerns about Jerusalem (vv. 1-3).

When the king asked him directly, “What are you requesting?”—Nehemiah was ready with a plan!

He prayed quickly before he replied, but he had well-thought-out answers for the king (vv. 4-5). He asked for permission to go to Jerusalem for a set time, for letters to provide safe conduct, and even for timber from the king’s forest for Jerusalem’s gates (vv. 6-8). These were big requests, but the king granted them all.

When Nehemiah entered Jerusalem, the city’s enemies took notice. Here was a man with a singular mission whose plans were refined by prayer. Big things were about to happen.

As you pray, consider the doors God has opened for you today.

316Judith

Bible Reading

Nehemiah 2:11-20

Commentary Thoughts:

A Program to Rebuild

And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work. (v. 18)

In Nehemiah 1, we read that Nehemiah’s brother Hanani had reported that the exiles were “in great trouble and shame” because the walls of Jerusalem were broken down, and the gates were destroyed by fire (see Neh. 1:3).

The exiles had been back in the city for more than 90 years, but it felt like they were still on square one. The enormity of the task of rebuilding was intimidating, and the exiles were nearly paralyzed by inaction.

But Nehemiah was not intimidated by the ruins! Without informing the city officials of his purpose, he quietly slipped out at night to inspect the walls.

He saw the debris and destruction, but that didn’t discourage him. Instead, he presented his plans to the Jewish leaders and encouraged them to take on his rebuilding program.

When the Jews heard about God’s provision for the work and the permission Nehemiah had received from Artaxerxes, they caught his vision and committed to the work.

We can be intimidated by the things that need to be rebuilt in our lives. Maybe we long for the restoration of a broken relationship. Or perhaps we are rising from the ruins of a long illness or a failed business.

Maybe it’s our relationship with God that needs to be restored. Nehemiah shows us that the right path forward is to begin where you are right now.

Strengthen your hands for the good work!

As you pray, ask for faith and strength to continue your own good work.