What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 1:13.

Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15.

One of the reasons I love this book is that Nehemiah writes in the first person. He is experiencing. He is standing before the king who notices his face looks sad and he was afraid. Can you imagine standing before a king and being afraid that he noticed your sadness? In the notes below: (The king noticed Nehemiah’s sad appearance. It surprised Nehemiah to be singled out for attention and it frightened him because it was dangerous to show sorrow before the king, who could execute anyone who displeased him. In fact, anyone wearing sackcloth (mourning clothes) was barred from the palace (Esther 4:2).

He told the king. The king asked Nehemiah what he wanted. Nehemiah prayed. Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” v. 4-5.

The king granted Nehemiah the right to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls surrounding the city and he gave him letters for officials who would question what Nehemiah was doing as well as army officers and cavalry to go with him, v. 7-9. Nehemiah quietly went about Jerusalem for 3 days after his journey there. He went at night with others to inspect the walls. Armed with the information he gleaned in his inspection, and with the knowledge God was with him, Nehemiah went to the priests, nobles, officials and told them God’s hand was with them and they had the kings permission to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. When 3 officials of the land ridiculed the work that was begun, Nehemiah answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” v. 20.

Nehemiah was troubled and knew fear. Do we? He took everything to God. Whenever I am troubled and know fear I am miserable until I take everything to God. I give Him my fears and He gives me His peace. In quietness and trust is your strength. How do I know that? I pray. I spend time with God in conversation and in revealing my fears and worries, I unburden the weight that presses down heavily. My spirit is lifted. How? My Creator God lifts me. We have a very personal relationship. He knows all my fears. He knows all my joys and hopes. Nothing is hidden from God. He already knows but when I tell Him, I’m sharing the best of me because the best of me is my honesty with Him.

I finished the book Lies We Believe About God by W. Paul Young yesterday. I highly recommend this book. The final chapter is titled A Final Word from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazi’s just before the end of the war. He was a protestant pastor and theologian deeply distressed by the atrocities of hate. How do I find comfort and peace and strength in God? God’s abiding love for you and me. The words of Bonhoeffer Paul Young shared:

“In the body of Jesus Christ, God is united with humankind, all humanity is accepted by God, and the world is reconciled to God. In the body of Jesus Christ, God took on the sin of all the world and bore it. There is no part of the world, no matter how lost, no matter how godless, that has not been accepted by God in Jesus Christ and reconciled to God.”

“God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings AS THEY ARE; not an ideal world, but the REAL WORLD. What we find repulsive in their opposition to God, what we shrink back from with pain and hostility, namely, real human beings, the real world, this is for God the ground of unfathomable love. God establishes a most intimate unity with this. God becomes human, a real human being. While we exert ourselves to grow beyond our humanity, to leave the human behind us, GOD BECOMES HUMAN; and we must recognize that God wills that we be human, real human beings. While we distinguish between pious and godless, good and evil, noble and base, God loves REAL PEOPLE without distinction. God has no patience with our dividing the world and humanity according to our standards and imposing ourselves as judges over them. God leads us into absurdity by becoming a real human being and a companion of sinners, thereby forcing us to become the judges of God. God stands beside the real human being and the real world against ALL THEIR ACCUSERS. So God becomes accused along with human beings and the world, and thus the judges become the accused. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics (New York: Touchstone, 1995), 66-68, 84-85.

I trust God. How can I not? He is my Creator and the One who loves so deeply we are healed and restored to joy in Him. A beautiful, quiet trust.