Warnings and Corrections: Applications from Nehemiah
“Anyone at any time, no matter what station, wisdom, or fame, is capable of falling away from the Lord”
The book of Nehemiah is an incredible book that exemplifies and pictures victory in the Christian walk. It shows how we as people are like cities with walls broken down, and how the Lord can build a defense around our hearts by his Word spiritually, just as Jerusalem's walls were restored physically. There’s this beautiful picture of dedication and rejoicing in the earlier parts of the book, but curiously in the last chapter of Nehemiah, the people fail to keep their oath to the Lord that they had made in chapter 10. Nehemiah uses a man named Solomon, whom God made greater than any man on earth, as a warning to the people. The warning is clear: anyone at any time, no matter what station, wisdom, or fame, is capable of falling away from the Lord.
After reading through the book, this caused me to tremble before the Lord. If the greatest man that ever lived was prone to failing, then how much more susceptible am I, someone who is weak, small and foolish susceptible to fail. The only thing to do at that point was to turn to the Lord and ask how I could apply this warning today and in the days to come. I would like to think that I would never fall away, but that’s simply and painfully untrue. The Lord allows life and death and good and evil to cross my path every day (Deut 30:15). Temptations to fall come every day, but so does the Lord's mercy (Lam 3:22-23). Both have the ability to influence my life and thinking.
“I asked the Lord to reveal my weaknesses, and ever since then he has been at work in my heart”
Now, if you're anything like me (which you are — 1 Cor 10:13) you have blindspots and weaknesses. We can’t see our own faults so easily, as was the case of those living in Jerusalem. They had let in influences that needed correcting, which Nehemiah did faithfully. So the question on the table that I had was: “What exactly are my blind spots, what things are influencing me?” I asked the Lord to reveal my weaknesses, and ever since then he has been at work in my heart. I’ll tell you, it is ugly to see yourself when the one you are comparing yourself to is a holy and righteous God! But I’ll also tell you that this same God loves to give correction and the grace to move forward!
Philippians 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if [there be any] wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
“It all starts with being honest”
The Lord is faithful to reveal areas in which we are prone to failing; for me it all starts with being honest. Admit it all. Clear out the ugly. I always imagine what's called a “doom closet,” which stands for a “didn’t organize, only moved” closet. In a lot of ways we can all be doom closets, moving things around without pulling them out to organize and throw away what doesn’t belong in our hearts and lives. But we have to, or else it will get us off track.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This is really simple stuff, but if I don’t apply the lesson again and again I will succumb to catastrophe and make a shipwreck (1 Tim 1:19). This is one of my greatest fears towards the Lord. I desperately do not want to cause damage to my relationship with the Lord, with the church, or with ministry to the lost world. Not worth it. Studying these chapters out has really solidified that desire for me in this season. If there’s any way to preserve these things to the glory of God, I want to do that. All in all though, I can’t trust myself in order to do a single thing right. My trust must be fully placed in God and his Word for all things (John 15:5, Prov 19:21, 2 Cor 9:8).
“I have confidence that by His Word and work He has restored me, a broken person to strength I never knew was possible”
Only the Word of God will stand (Prov 19:21), and it is sufficient to bring all to repentance and restore anything that has been broken. When I first came into this ministry I was an incredibly broken person, and as a result all I knew to do was break things. The Lord is faithful and He is known as the Physician, able to heal and restore. I have confidence that by His Word and work He has restored me, a broken person to strength I never knew was possible, to stand in the evil days that have passed and are to come (Eph 6:13).
Romans 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
Isaiah 40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
Psalms 37:24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth [him with] his hand.
Gillian Drake is a member of Midtown Baptist Temple and is a part of C&YA. She serves in the worship choir, and is a part of a Friends of Internationals Women’s Bible Study.
