Take a Moment, Regardless of the Situation!

And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick, this is nothing but sorrow of heart." So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my father's tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire? Then the king said to me, "What do you request?" So I prayed to the God of Heaven. (Nehemiah 2:1-4 (NKJV)

… So I prayed to the God of heaven. When Nehemiah did this he was already in an extremely dangerous position, in those days, especially for pagan people, kings were like God. They were sovereign; their power was absolute; their words and decrees were law; any infraction could warrant death and Nehemiah had already committed two offenses. The first one was appearing before the king with the sadness he was overcome with for the city of Jerusalem showing on his face. A sad servant could suggest that the king was deficient in his duties and to make the look bad meant death, something Nehemiah was surely aware of, and more than likely the reason he became dreadfully afraid when the king asked him what was wrong.

Nehemiah's second offence comes after he answers the king and tells him what his problem is. When the king asks him what his request was Nehemiah didn't answer immediately. Instead, he prayed to the God of heaven. Amazing. In the face of possible death, Nehemiah takes a moment to pray which shows us something about this man of God, something I hope every one of us will adopt and live out. What we see from Nehemiah is total reliance upon God. To Nehemiah, the God of heaven was his sovereign; God was his ruler, and that was who Nehemiah was going to rely on no matter what the situation was. This was probably the most critical moment in Nehemiah's life. He was in captivity in a foreign land, before a king he knew could very well decree his death for not answering immediately, and yet he prayed because he knew he needed the help of his God who he knew to be infinitely more powerful than Persia's king.

So, today, if we don't already possess it, then let us adopt the kind of reliance upon God that Nehemiah exhibited. I don't care what the situation is, major or minor, if God is your ruler, if he is the "best of planners and providers" as some people like to say, then confer with him before you make a decision about your life which he is in charge of. Let's stop thinking we know what's best for and taking matters into our own hands. Let's stop yielding to our flesh and making decisions based upon what It wants. Let's stop being impulsive and jumping into the first thing that seems right to us. And let's stop relying on God only when we think we really need him. We have to allow God to be God at all time and in all situations instead of only letting him be the ruler of our lives when we come up against something that shows us how woefully unqualified we are to do the job ourselves.

Today we rely on God. Do you have a decision that needs to be made? Before you make the wrong on, ask God what you should do and let him make the right one for you. You need to respond to someone but can't seem to find the right words? Ask God for them instead of blurting out the wrong ones. Are you spiritually, emotionally, or mentally lost? Ask God for direction instead of wandering around on your own. In every situation you find yourself in, rely on God. Regardless of what's going on, whether the situation is as dangerous as Nehemiah's or something minute and seemingly inconsequential, take a moment and petition your king. Sometimes that's all it takes.

Prayer for today: Dear Lord, help us to reflect on your importance in Nehemiah's life and teach us to rely on you as completely. Give us the wisdom to bring all our needs to you. In Jesus' name. Amen.