When I was a kid, there was a couple in our church named Ray and Dorcas. They were good people, and a sincere Christians. But whenever there was a call to receive Christ, they would always come forward and kneel at the altar. I learned later that they saw every time at the altar as an opportunity for a fresh start in their lives.
As an adult, I’ve wished many times for a fresh start. Not that my spiritual commitment or relationship with God has changed dramatically. But somehow things get kind of warped and twisted. Habits develop; ways of thinking, feeling and responding that intrude and do not fit with what I want to be, or what God wants. I’d like to wipe them all out and start again with a sense of freshness and restoration. I’d like to make a new beginning.
Nehemiah knew that God was giving his people a fresh start. God was restoring their lives from captivity.
Although, Israel had never stopped being his people, he was bringing them back where they belonged. The people of God were to come back to the their land with great expectations to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem.
But it wasn’t long before Nehemiah discovered that the old patterns of life and old values were creeping back into the people’s lives. In the face of attacks and threats, they had stopped working. Their hope was lost and they began to settle for rubble.
In the middle of this bleak situation, Nehemiah responds…
“So I placed armed guards behind the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I stationed the people to stand guard by families, armed with swords, spears, and bows. Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!’” (Neh 4:13–14, NLT)
This can happen to us when our hopes seem to be on hold. We begin to drift from God and give up on our dreams. But Nehemiah tells us that it’s at times like this we need to redouble our resolve to fight. It’s at times like this that we can experience a fresh start by coming to the Lord who is more great and more glorious than anything.
Ray and Dorcas were way ahead of us.
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