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- Apr 25, 2006
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Heartbreaker
'When I heard this I sat down and wept' Nehemiah 1:4
Nehemiah is far from home when he receives the bad news from his brother, Hanani: Jerusalem has become a joke. Her very walls are stripped and looted to the bare bones.
Once the most beautiful, Godly city in the world, now Jerusalem looks like a condemned shack with boarded-up windows. Thieves raided her daily, neighbours spat on her; Jerusalem was treated like a down-on-her-luck beggar.
Nehemiah's heart was broken. He had to do something about it. Any work of God starts with weeping. Before laying a single brick, Nehemiah had to be broken.
And there's a lesson for us there: passionate talks at summer festivals or heart-manipulating images of the poor may be enough to get us out of the blocks but only tears will sustain us. Unless God's broken us, it's all too easy to give up when the going gets tough.
We're distracted by next year's bright idea, we forget why we signed up, or we feel let down because it's all too hard. The thorn that God places in your heart is the best motivation you'll ever need to keep going when the going gets tough.
Nehemiah weeps, fasts and prays for days before making his first move to rebuild Jerusalem. Are you in two minds about your calling? Ask God to break your heart with what breaks His. Spend time in solid prayer. Deprive yourself of something time consuming in order to focus on God.
written by Bob Gass
'When I heard this I sat down and wept' Nehemiah 1:4
Nehemiah is far from home when he receives the bad news from his brother, Hanani: Jerusalem has become a joke. Her very walls are stripped and looted to the bare bones.
Once the most beautiful, Godly city in the world, now Jerusalem looks like a condemned shack with boarded-up windows. Thieves raided her daily, neighbours spat on her; Jerusalem was treated like a down-on-her-luck beggar.
Nehemiah's heart was broken. He had to do something about it. Any work of God starts with weeping. Before laying a single brick, Nehemiah had to be broken.
And there's a lesson for us there: passionate talks at summer festivals or heart-manipulating images of the poor may be enough to get us out of the blocks but only tears will sustain us. Unless God's broken us, it's all too easy to give up when the going gets tough.
We're distracted by next year's bright idea, we forget why we signed up, or we feel let down because it's all too hard. The thorn that God places in your heart is the best motivation you'll ever need to keep going when the going gets tough.
Nehemiah weeps, fasts and prays for days before making his first move to rebuild Jerusalem. Are you in two minds about your calling? Ask God to break your heart with what breaks His. Spend time in solid prayer. Deprive yourself of something time consuming in order to focus on God.
written by Bob Gass
