Weep, Pray, and Work!

Some readers of yesterday's TFTD questioned if I had become a fatalist. By that, they wondered if I had concluded that the only response to sorrow, tragedy, and suffering is quiet resignation, accepting fate. Is that what trusting God means? Certainly not! My life is steadied by two truths that run side by side like the rails on which a train rides: the rail of the will of God and the rail of human responsibility. If I over-emphasize God's will, I risk fatalism. If I lean too far towards human responsibility, I will become fearful, neurotic even, trying to cope with life that is often beyond my understanding or control.

The story of Nehemiah informs me and inspires me in this. Some 6 centuries before the time of Jesus, the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem were laid waste by the Assyrians. The walls were torn down, the temple of Yahweh destroyed, and the strongest young Jews were carried to Babylon to become slaves. About a century prior in a first invasion, the Northern Kingdom had been destroyed totally. So was there any hope of a restoration of the city and people of God? Years became decades and Jerusalem was still a place of ruins. A fatalist would have sung a funeral song and accepted this as the 'will of God,' which, the Bible teaches us, it was!

Yet, there was a man, serving in the courts of the pagan king, who dreamed of change. His name? Nehemiah. He received a report from some exiles who returned to their sacred city.
"They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’" (Nehemiah 1:3-9, NIV)

He wept, his heart moved by the needs of the people he loved.
He prayed, because he believed that God was the One who moved to change the world.
And, he worked! The rest of the book is the story of how this man risked his life and threw himself into making a difference.

Nehemiah, who worked directly for the king, asked permission to become a rebuilder. Blessed with God's favor, he received the king's release and traveled hundreds of miles to Jerusalem. Did he then sit down and wait for God to do something? Was he waiting for fate? No. He surveyed the need, set a plan in place, and gathered the support of the people. "I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work." (Nehemiah 2:15-18, NIV)

Nehemiah's willingness to work for God's purposes and the Lord's provisions for Nehemiah to get the job done are so interwoven that they become inseparable. This man of faith and works went on to rebuild his nation, to enlist men to work along side of him, not just to rebuild the infrastructure, but to restore the worship of God and to create a system for teaching God's ways to the people so they would remain true to their God.

Do you see need in your world? Do suffering people move your heart? Does human need - spiritual and material - break your heart? Then weep!
But don't cry the tears of a fatalist that bemoans the problem and then sighs, "that's life." Instead, go to your knees and pray for a revelation, a vision for transformation!
Ask God to show you a way to make a difference.
Then, work! Yes, friend, pour yourself and your resources into changing the world.

As we do this, we will rebuild His Kingdom for the glory of God, remembering the twin exhortations of Jesus:"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT) "Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you what he promised. ... you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:4-5 NLT) ... you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses (living demonstrators of God's power) in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8, NIV)

The world is waiting. Will you weep, pray, and work 'til Jesus, the King, returns?