Nehemiah 13:15-18
I have to confess...I have been waiting for God to once again convict me of my depression.. this time of the year, when I'm missing love ones that have passed away and my spiritual walls start to be invaded. So God gave me Nehemiah 13:15-18. Nehemiah, was move to see Jerusalem's walls rebuilt, and God made a way for it to happen.
During those days, while back in Judah, I also noticed that people traded wine presses, brought in sacks of grain, and loaded up their donkeys on the Sabbath. They brought wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of stuff to sell on the Sabbath. So I spoke up and warned them about selling food on that day. Tyrians living there brought in fish and whatever else, selling it to Judeans—in Jerusalem, mind you!—on the Sabbath.
I confronted the leaders of Judah: “What’s going on here? This evil! Profaning the Sabbath! Isn’t this exactly what your ancestors did? And because of it didn’t God bring down on us and this city all this misery? And here you are adding to it—accumulating more wrath on Jerusalem by profaning the Sabbath.”-Nehemiah 13:15-18The Message (MSG)
Those merchants who did business on the Sabbath didn't leave Jerusalem altogether...they camped outside the walls, waiting for the chance to get inside again. What about you? Is your battle with loneliness? Depression? A past hurt? It stirs in you an urge to escape..so strongly that you finally give into it. We turn back to our previous bondage...the thing that robbed us of our freedom in the first place...and soon all sense of victory is gone. We wonder..“Isn't there some way to be free of this..and to stay free?
Comments
Overcoming such challenges requires much more than a personal desire or goal; Nehemiah was driven by an understanding that God appointed him to the task. His sense of purpose invigorated the people to follow his leadership despite incredible opposition. When God charges us with a task—whether to repair a relationship or share what He’s done in our lives—He gives us whatever skills and strength are necessary to continue in our effort to do what He’s asked, no matter what challenges come our way.