Having a Passion

In a recent sermon at my church, the pastor started a new series with a message from Nehemiah 1 – 2. He entitled it: How to Change Your World in 52 Days. The key part of the message was looking at Nehemiah and seeing how he responded to the news that Jerusalem was a disgrace to the nation of Israel. The walls were in rubble and the gates had all been burned to nothing. Nehemiah could’ve respo nded like everyone else had for the last 200 years. They had the attitude that it’s a shame but someone else will have to do something about it because they did not have the knowledge, the strength, the whatever excuse they could make. But in reality they just didn’t have the passion for the mission to rebuild the wall.

However, when Nehemiah heard the news, he responded with weeping. He was distraught over the condition of Jerusalem, his “homeland’s” major city. Even though it was over a thousand miles away from where Nehemiah was in the Persian Empire, he had a deep response to the condition of God’s holy city. This passionate mourning about an issue (in this case, the state of Jerusalem’s walls) will be so burdensome that we will drop to the floor and weep. Everyone needs something to be passionate about, but we all need to be passionate about the things of God.

The second step Nehemiah took to changing his world was to go to his knees in prayer. He started praying while he was weeping and continued praying for several days. This may be where Nehemiah’s plan was formed and confirmed by God. I know I don’t give as much attention to prayer as I should. I rarely spend a day praying about a specific task, person, mission, or something else I might be passionate about. But Nehemiah spent several days kneeling in prayer. Is there something I should be that passionate about? I’m not sure at this point, but I’m praying about it.

The last point the pastor made was that Nehemiah did not just keep praying about the situation and hope someone else would step up to do something about it. He stood up and acted. So the third step to changing your world is to stand up and act. But we need a plan. For instance, Nehemiah’s plan was revealed in several places in these two chapters. He had a mission and he had some steps that needed to take place in order. First, he did his research and found out the name of the man in charge of the king’s forests. He also had to find out the names of the various rulers whose lands he would be traveling through. Remember, Nehemiah was a lowly cupbearer/butler. He would not have known these people in the course of normal living. He had to do research to get that kind of information.

The next action Nehemiah took was to present his plan to the Persian king as soon as he had opportunity. That came when the king asked him why he was so downcast and not his usual joyful self. God’s hand was definitely in this situation because normally anybody who appeared in the king’s presence who was not happy looking would be taken out of the king’s court and killed. But Nehemiah had earned the reputation for being exceptionally joyful, so much so that the king noticed when he was distraught. That’s something we have to remember as we make plans . . . God is controlling the ultimate outcomes. That’s sometimes hard for me to remember or believe as I don’t see answers to my prayers.

However, Nehemiah knew God’s hand and power was in the situation so he responded to the king’s question with a succinct explanation of what was on his heart. He started with complimenting the king and continued with a description of the situation: “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruin and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” [Nehemiah 2:3] The king, miraculously, responded by asking what did Nehemiah want from him. And Nehemiah laid out a well-thought out plan that included the king giving him support in numerous ways.

Later, after arriving in Jerusalem, Nehemiah continued to prayerfully make plans, step by step. First, he rested, then he went out at night and inspected the walls. He did this so he would know what the next steps would be and exactly how big this task was. After that, realizing he could not rebuild the wall by himself, he motivated and rallied the Israelites living in Jerusalem to join his cause. The rest of the book of Nehemiah lays out the obstacles and solutions Nehemiah faced in building the walls. But God’s hand was on the situation and, in accordance with Nehemiah’s passion, prayer, and planning, the wall was rebuilt.

So my first question and prayer today has been, “What is my passion?” I’m praying God would show me what should be my passion and help me take action on accomplishing something to address an issue I’m aware of that needs to have attention. What’s your passion and what action are you taking to address that issue?