When God’s hand is on someone for good, things that seem insurmountable may be done, and jobs that seem too big can be handled without great difficulty. This is very evident in the book of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah was captive in Babylon he was the King’s cupbearer. He heard from some of his Jewish friends that the City of Jerusalem laid in waste and that the gates had been broken down. This caused Nehemiah’s heart to be broken. So he prayed to God. Nehemiah admitted and confessed the sins on his people, and how they had dealt corruptly against God.
Nehemiah 1:10-11 “10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. 11 O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.”
We see that Nehemiah gave credit to God for bringing Israel out of bondage from Egypt. Then in Nehemiah chapter 2, Nehemiah pleads his case before the king, asking for permission to go to Jerusalem so he could rebuild the city. He also asked for letters to the governors of the provinces that he would pass through so that he would have all he needed to rebuild the city and its gates. Nehemiah 2:5-8 “5 … If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. 6 And the king said unto me… how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; 8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”
Although the king was not a servant of God, the man of God had obtained favor with the king because of the good hand of God being upon him. This was a very daunting task that Nehemiah had set out to do, but the hand of God was upon him.
Nehemiah 2:17-18 “17 … Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. 18 Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”
Through much opposition and hardship, the Jews were able to rebuild the wall and later inhabit the city. If you feel God has asked of you something that is too hard, I recommend reading the book of Nehemiah and see how the hand of God blessed the work of Nehemiah and his people.
Ricky Wilborn
Fort Payne, AL
