"Begin Again" Devotional - Pt. 6 (Nehemiah 2:1-10)

1 Early the following spring, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes' reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never appeared sad in his presence before this time. 2 So the king asked me, "Why are you so sad? You aren't sick, are you? You look like a man with deep troubles."Then I was badly frightened, 3 but I replied, "Long live the king! Why shouldn't I be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been burned down." 4 The king asked, "Well, how can I help you?"With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, "If it please Your Majesty and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried." 6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, "How long will you be gone? When will you return?" So the king agreed, and I set a date for my departure. 7 I also said to the king, "If it please Your Majesty, give me letters to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 And please send a letter to Asaph, the manager of the king's forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself." And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me. 9 When I came to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, I delivered the king's letters to them. The king, I should add, had sent along army officers and horsemen to protect me. 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of my arrival, they were very angry that someone had come who was interested in helping Israel. - Nehemiah 2:1-10 (NLT)


As children of God, we have learned to rely upon the Lord to meet our daily needs. Seldom, if ever, do we rely upon the mercy of unbelievers to enable us to do what the Lord leads us to do. Yet, there are many times when the Lord will use unbelievers to bless us in our work for the Lord. They may have the money that we need to fund a ministerial project. They may have the knowledge we need to perform a surgical procedure, when the Lord chooses not to heal us miraculously. If the Lord grants us favor to get whatever we need from people who do not believe, it will always be so that He may be glorified.

The Lord is glorified when those who do not believe in Him come to a saving knowledge of who He is. The Lord is glorified when those who do know Him begin to know Him better and trust Him more fully. The Lord wants what is best for his children and He also wants to reach those who are spiritually lost.


If you sense that the Lord is leading you to seek a worldly (or natural) means to heal, promote or otherwise establish you, do it. The Lord often uses the things of the world to bless us spiritually. He does this by blessing us with the favor we need, from those who can do whatever we need, to be victorious in this life. You are not out of favor with God when you must rely on the favor of man. But, be sure that you seek the Father's perfect will concerning a troubling matter, before depending upon unbelievers to help you out of your difficulties!


To complete today's Bible study go to the Bible Study for Busy People blog.