We are spending this month learning about rebuilding and renewal from the book of Nehemiah, an ancient autobiography that sits right in the center of scripture.
Last week we met Nehemiah and learned that he rebuilt the city of Jerusalem, but not because he had superior engineering skills, relevant experience, or exceptional spiritual gifting. It’s really much simpler and more challenging than any of that.
God used Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem because when Nehemiah heard the city was in desperate need of renewal, he chose to go and let God use him.
For most of us, when we hear something tragic, is not to go but to wait–to wait for a perfect leader to follow, to wait for a gilded invitation, to wait for a sign from the Lord. But Nehemiah knew he wanted to be part of God’s good work. He was an ordinary guy who understood that God uses ordinary people. He knew it wasn’t his call to wait–he knew it was his call to go.
And this Sunday we are looking at the next chunk of Nehemiah’s story and marveling at the next remarkable thing about Nehemiah. Nehemiah knew it was his call to be part of the rebuilding. But he also knew it wasn’t only his call.
So often when we are brave and foolish enough to believe that God has called us to be part of something–we make the mistake of believing that God has only called us. Nehemiah avoided that trap. He began his work by inviting others in. We must do the same.
I hope you will listen in as we learn from Nehemiah that the first step of living out our calling is sharing it with others.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe:
