Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 4:1-23, Genesis 28:15, Ephesians 1:18-23
In my second year of college, I flunked out. Well, maybe not “flunked out,” but I was definitely placed on academic probation. I couldn’t take classes at the university for a full year. Humiliated and miserable, I returned home to wait out my year off. I took that year very seriously. With the help of a coach, I learned the value of delayed gratification and self-governance. It was the hardest work I’d ever undertaken, and that hard work paid off when I returned and graduated.
A few years later, I decided I wanted to get healthy. Eating well and exercising were more challenging than I’d expected, and there were several times I wanted to give up. But each time I felt overwhelmed, I remembered the hard work of teaching myself to self-govern and to delay immediate gratification, and how those skills had earned me a diploma. Remembering these things spurred me on toward health.
In Scripture, the command to “remember” certain things is common. The Israelites were instructed to remember God delivered them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 13:3), and they were charged with committing the law to their memory (34:27). Similarly, the New Testament church was instructed to remember the victorious work of Christ on the cross through observing holy communion (Luke 22:7-19). It seems that “remembering” is the bridge that connects the past to the future—a present action that recalls the past and serves to propel us into our future.
The author of Nehemiah is recounting an experience during the rebuilding of the wall, when the circumstances of the present seem to be overwhelming the promise of the future. External forces were devising a plan to obstruct the building of Jerusalem’s walls. The opposition first tried to plant seeds of doubt. They hurled taunts and ridicule as the Jews were beginning their work, yet the Jewish builders persisted. But when they were about halfway through, the naysayers decided to destroy the work.
Understandably, the prospect of battle put fear in the hearts of the Jews who were working, and they began to doubt. Nehemiah assessed the danger and found that it was indeed very real. And so he told the workers to outfit themselves with the accoutrements of battle, and he directed them to “remember the great and awe-inspiring God” (Nehemiah 4:14).
And remember they did. They remembered the battles previously fought and won with Jehovah as their commander-in-chief, and they prepared to fight to protect their wives, their children, and the future of their holy city, Jerusalem. The remembering brought them strength—not just strength to arm themselves, but strength to continue the work.
Today, I’m encouraged to continue the work God has called me to, remembering His faithfulness in my past. The opposition of my present circumstances might be a very real threat—funky finances, a broken relationship, systemic injustice—but today I choose to remember the character and promises of the God I serve.
“Look, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land,
for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
—Genesis 28:15
Erin Rose lives and works in vibrant Richmond, Virginia, where she serves as Worship & Teaching Pastor at East End Fellowship. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia, and is currently enrolled as a graduate student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Erin is a member of Urban Doxology, a ministry that is writing the soundtrack of reconciliation for the church. Her greatest joy lies in leading God’s people in authentic worship, and teaching them the truth found in God’s Word. She also enjoys eating delicious food, spending time with loved ones, and indulging in the occasional Netflix binge.
This was so good
I struggled remember Him, but I can look back and see where he was. I struggled an incredible amount with self gratification and worth. .. it’s not necessary at all. God doesn’t ask me to micro manage. My eternity is already managed. So, I’m at some peace that perfection is not mine unless I’m speaking about knowing the one true king. I love you Jesus. Take this cup from me!
I need to remember what God has done for me in the past. And even if I feel what I need to do in my life isn’t being done on my timeline that God has His own for my life. God will be there to help me accomplish what I need to. I need to remember it may take time, but God will help me accomplish it.
I love how verses 13-14 recount the efforts that Nehemiah went to in order to get the Jews on the defensive (“I stationed people” at XYZ; “I made an inspection;” “I stood up and told everybody not to be afraid…”), yet what we’re told in verse 15 gives all the credit to God: “When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it…”
I love the theme in this story thus far of how faithful Nehemiah has been in trusting the Lord from the get-go, but I also love this section of verses and how seemingly easy it was for Nehemiah to give all the credit to God despite all the work Nehemiah and his people had been putting in. Often I find that it’s really easy to ask God for help when the going is tough, but then I forget to thank and credit him when the prayers are answered.
I’m thankful this morning for the reminder of God’s faithfulness.
I need to make sure to remember all the ways God has provided me in the past when facing new challenges. This was a great reminder of that!
It’s just incredible the tenacity that they had-not just to defend themselves, but ALSO to rebuild the wall. So often I can just go “on the defense” through my spiritual walk and just go to God when I have problems. But to actually serve God, daily putting in the effort to know him and build up my soul and mind reminds me of what the Jewish nation was doing—putting in the hard work to consistently honor God WHILE dealing with battle. WOW
Thank you for this! It was a great addition to the devotional!
I needed this today. This has been a terrible and beautiful season. My boyfriend left in the most terrible way, becoming someone I don’t even recognize and running from God. In a matter of a month I lost my boyfriend, a friend and my job. In it all, all logic says, run the other way, yet, there is a voice that I feel is calling me to lean in and wait. It is so painful to sit in all of this, but I know that even in the pain, God is doing beautiful work in me. I feel such a strong burden in all of this for him, for the forces at work in his life that keep a pattern going. I question myself and my own desires constantly. Is it God or is it me? But I know that left to my own devices I leave before left, im great at resentment and bitterness. So even there I see God is changing me. I question what I feel like God is calling me to constantly. Yet, its is reminders like Gen 28:15 that center me again. Knowing that God is faithful and has been faithful in my life and that He is with me watching over me. It all looks impossible, a Red Sea situation really. But God is big, and I place my faith in the fact that He never calls us into something where He isn’t protecting us. Today I will shift my attention back to what He has done to remind me of all he is doing!
Thank you for this. I am going through the same thing, the end of a relationship, and he too is just unrecognizable. I mistakenly put so much into this relationship and now my world has been shaken. I see God daily in this struggle, some days more than others. I see how loved by Him I am. I appreciate your honesty as I clicked so much with and were greatly encouraged by your words. Prayers, peace, and comfort to you.
Oh Jessica, I will be praying for you in all of this too! I know how hard and confusing it all is. I know without a shadow of a doubt that God has good things in store for both of us, whether or not it includes them. You are doing it all just right. Much love to you this evening.
I love the reminder to remember! So many times I feel overwhelmed and this present moment feels so suffocating that’s it is hard to remember that this to shall pass and that God has got me through before and HE WILL be faithful again!