Yesterday we covered the first two leadership lessons from Nehemiah 1 according to Chuck Swindoll. Let's look at the remaining two:
3. A Serious Leader Goes First to God with the Problem. In Nehemiah 1:5 we hear Nehemiah say, “I beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven.” He prayed.
What is your first response when a need comes to your attention? I can tell you what it is because it’s usually my first response in my own fallen human nature: “How can I work this out?” or “What did so-and-so do wrong to make that happen?”
Your people problem, whatever it may be, will not be completely solved until you take it to God in prayer. I mentioned this in the first chapter, and it is illustrated in Nehemiah’s life. Someday you will look back at those things you did rationally in the flesh, and you will hate the day you did them. Prayer, I repeat, is absolutely essential in the life of a leader.
Look at how Nehemiah behaved before the Lord. First, he praised God
I beseech Thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments. (v. 5)
He knew he was not coming to just another man, but rather to the God of heaven.
For whom did Nehemiah work? The king. Was this king great and mighty on the earth? The mightiest! But compared to God, King Artaxerxes was nothing. And so it stands to reason that when we go to God in prayer, we put things into proper perspective. If you are having difficulty loving or relating to an individual, take him to God. Bother the Lord with this person. Don’t you be bothered with him—leave him at the throne.
Next, in Nehemiah 1:6-7, he confessed his part in the problem.
Let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open to hear the prayer of Thy servant which I am praying before Thee now, day and night [notjust a quick panic prayer, but day and night], on behalf of the sons of Israel Thy servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against Thee; I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against Thee.
Notice the words “we” and “I.” The confession was not on behalf of someone else’s failure. The confession had to do with Nehemiah’s part in the problem. What do we do when we are in conflict with another person? We usually blame the other person (our fallen state coming through again). We usually think of six or seven ways the other person has manifested his stubbornness and unwillingness to change, but we seldom consider our part in the problem. But it works both ways. So the very first thing Nehemiah said in regard to the problem was, “Lord, I am culpable. I am not only wanting to be part of the answer, I am confessing myself to be part of the problem.”
There may be husband-wife difficulties at your house or strained pupil-teacher relationships at school. There might be strife between a parent and child. And invariably, you will think of your mate or your child or your mom or your teacher or your pupil as being the problem. That is not necessarily the truth.
I plead with you—as you go before God in prayer concerning any unresolved personality conflicts, have the attitude reflected in these words: “Lord, I bring before you these areas where I have caused an irritation. This is my realm of responsibility. I can’t change him. But God, I can tell you that this is my part in it; forgive me.”
Nehemiah didn’t stop with confession. Next, he claimed the promise. When he went to God in prayer, he praised the Father, confessed his part in the wrong, and claimed the promise God had given.
Verse 8 reads, “Remember the word which Thou didst command Thy servant Moses.” What was Nehemiah doing? He was quoting a verse of scripture to God. He quoted not only from Leviticus 26 but also from Deuteronomy 30. He knew the Book. “Lord, I open the Book before You. I bring You the very words You spoke, the promise You made. And I’m claiming it, Lord, right now.”
What was the promise? It was twofold. The promise was that if Israel disobeyed, they would go into a foreign land. That had come to pass. The second part was that when that time of captivity was ended, God would bring the Jews back to Jerusalem and protect them. That part was unfulfilled. So Nehemiah was saying, “Lord, the first part is true. We’ve disobeyed and we’ve been in captivity. But, Lord, You made a promise to bring us back into the city and protect us, and that has not come to pass yet. I am claiming that it will.”
The apostle Paul wrote:
Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he [Abraham] did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform. (Rom. 4:20-21)
God does not lightly give out promises. He says, “I promise you that if you will give Me your burden, I will bear it. If you will seek first My kingdom, I will add all these other things to you. If you will make your heart right before Me, I will lead you into a path of stability and prosperity.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean He will fill your wallet. It does mean He will give you peace—like the world is not able to know. “I will promote you to a place of My level of significance, and you will be satisfied.”
Nehemiah said, “Lord, You promised that Your people will be protected in that city, and I’m claiming it right now.”
Finally Nehemiah brought his petition or desire before God. His petition was a bold one.
O Lord, I’beseech Thee, may Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant and the prayer of Thy servants who delight to revere Thy name, and make Thy servant successful today, and grant him compassion before this man. (v.11)
Have you ever prayed this? “Lord, make me successful. Make me find that place in the center of Your will where heavenly prosperity rests, in whatever level it may be. May I reach the maximum so that I am, in Your eyes, prosperous. And, Lord, grant me favor with those in authority over me!” That’s bold petitioning
4. A Leader Is Available to Meet the Need Himself. “Make me successful. Grant me compassion in his eyes.” Nehemiah recognized the need clearly. He got involved in it. He took it to God. Now he was available to meet the need, if that was what God desired.
A genuine leader is marked by diligent faithfulness in the midst of a task. And that faithfulness is more than passive inclination. It is demonstrated by being available and personally involved in meeting needs. There is not much benefit in leadership by proxy.
Leaders in Gods work would do well to remember that principle. Prayer is primary. But not theoretical prayer. Prayer that gets the job done includes the conviction, “I’m available, Lord—ready and willing.”
I wish more of you could join me in that prayer "Here I am, send me". See you at church tomorrow.
As I read today’s lesson, dang it does it home. It’s true that whenever there’s a problem, my first instinct response would be how can I fix this or what factors cause this problem. Nehemiah, not only he came to God as his first response, but also included himself in it as part of the problem. Sometimes it’s hard for us to self recognize that. We tend to come to God when we’re in a panic mode but Nehemiah prayed day and night. That’s one thing I want to do more in my personal life.
From our brother Don’s – his reflection is yet again beautiful and insightful:
“A serious leader goes first to God with a problem.” This point seems so obvious, yet often times I obstinately miss it completely. After all, who else better to go to with any problem than the Almighty Creator of the heavens and the earth? Yet this is rarely my first response to any problem. I will just spin my wheels and frustrate matters by trying to resolve issues on my own. Even with the intentional resolve to seek Him first, as well as the innumerable times He has proven to be the only answer, He is many times more like a “last resort” rather than a “first defense.”
Many times too I will attempt to rationalize and justify myself, rather than identify as part of the problem, as Nehemiah did. Often while praying for others, the Lord will make clear to me that I am just in need of His forgiveness, if not more so, than anyone who I might feel has acted unrighteously.
“A leader is available to meet the need himself.” I think of all the times I’ve prayed about problems, or for other people, and then just “left it in God’s hands.” It is good to recognize that He is the one that has the power to change people and situations, but it is also good to realize that often times He will use us in doing so. I have prayed for things so many times, but how rarely I have made myself available to be used by God to answer those prayers!
Lord, forgive my unbelief, and increase my faith! Help me to make you my first defense, as Nehemiah did, remembering that You alone are God, sovereign King of the Universe! Help me to see my part in things, and to confess my own sin without justifying myself or minimizing my part. I pray that we would claim Your promises, remembering that You “work all things together for the good of those that love You!” Help us to meditate upon the implications of what that really means, and to remember that You are always faithful to fulfill Your word! And further, prepare.our hearts to always be ready and available to be used by You for Your glory and honor.
I have been really reflecting on the statement of being sent out and being used as God’s instruments of His work for those who are around me and those who are afar. I pray that God would mold and shape me to be in His image so that I can be a small light of this dark world, given all that is happening. I pray that God would convict my heart so that I can be sent out even more than ever and be used by Him. I pray for diligence in doing His work so that I do it not out of a chore but as a reflection of Him changing my life.
Today’s read was a good reminder to go back to God in times of stress or anger. It’s often times we forget to pray and simply seek it out to deal with it ourselves. I also found a good refresher of perspective. In this I mean that as humans sometimes we do not consider all angles of the problem and become narrow minded in tough times due to raw emotions. I pray to continue to be calm and to consider all outlooks and perspectives of a situation before acting on it. I do not want to live with regrets, so I shall prevent myself and take precaution. This way it not only allows me to seek God’s guidance, but allows for a better environment to communicate with others competently.
Someone in our group shared:
God honestly knows my struggles when it comes to prayer especially as of recently. Three things that really resonated with me is, if I am having difficulty living or relation to an individual it is essential to take them up to God. Even to the point where I need to bother the Lord with this person and leave Him at His throne rather than being bothered with Him. I need to fully behave before God and trust that He will completely solve what I’m going through even when it doesn’t go as how I want it to. I think another thing that stood out to me was my position of responsibility and how I should handle it. When scripture states how we must bring before our areas that cause irritation, and even admit our responsibility within the brokenness. I think it is definitely challenging to admit the wrongs even when you can’t even see it. As lastly, I pray that I continue to be always available and ready even when it is scary.
Reading this passage I was reminded of my favorite quote by C.S. Lewis
“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be”
Being a true leader requires total faith and obedience regardless of the pain or pressure that lies ahead. Nehemiah was able to take on this responsibility that God placed on his heart and did not let the fear of this extreme demand to thwart him from pursuing God’s will. I aspire to have this level of obedience with the Lord. Great lesson!
jennifer’s reflection:
This passage reminds me how us as humans can’t solve our problems on our own without God. Without God our situations will turn into regret and failure. “Someday you will look back at those things you did rationally in the flesh, and you will hate the day you did them.” Overall, I can trust my situations to God and pray to him especially about problems out of my control.