Nehemiah 2-5
2 so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart."
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?"
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
Nehemiah was not intimidated by others of more power, more smarts, more grandeur than himself. He was the cupbearer to the king. But he was afraid. The end of verse 2 reads “I was very much afraid, but I said to the king”
Are there things in business that we are very much afraid of? People that intimidate us? I know there are in my business. I will be 40 in December and I still feel inadequate when talking to a couple business people in my life. Are there people who intimidate you? Are there people who just plain scare you?
I am always saying to my wife – “Dear it never hurts to ask.” OR sometimes I word it like this “The only harm in asking is being told no.” Although right now in this instant it hit me – being told no does not harm me – it forces me to find another way.
So is there someone who scares you – but you know you need their help? Be afraid – that’s ok – but do something anyway! Don’t let your fear hold you back. Let your fear help you realize the reward of that risk. Go ahead be ‘very much afraid’ – but do it anyway! Do it anyway!
“What is it you want?”
So what do you want? What do you need to ask help from someone for? What decision do you need to make? Do you need a loan for the business? Do you need to decide to spend money on joining the 60 day program with Carrie and Paul? And YES I do highly recommend it – even only after the first 4 days of the program.
A side note – the link to Carrie and Paul 60 is one of the few links you will find on my site that is NOT an affiliate link.
So Nehemiah answers the king – this is why I am sad. And wonder of all wonders – the king simply asks “What is it you want”. He took a step of boldness and and he was rewarded by the simple question – what is it you want. This means the king’s ear are OPEN. He is listening to Nehemiah.
What is it you want? Before you answer – ask yourself ‘Have I done what Nehemiah is about to do?” Have you prayed about it? There are two things this week that I am praying about that I need to accomplish in my business. The first is of course – what is the main focus – the main thrust of what I want to do and how am I going to accomplish it? It what manner am I going to work today to accomplish my WHY?
The second is this “I have a pass to the BOSS event – do You Lord want me to go?” I know that I WANT TO GO.
“Then I prayed to the God of heaven”
So pray about your decisions. Make them – but look for wisdom/guidance before you look for the help. This is an easy one to say – not so easy to implement however. Do you have the wherewithal to stand before a king who is waiting for an answer and pray? I could imagine Nehemiah standing before Artaxerxes and saying “Oh – what do I want? Hang on just a second most powerful man in the land – I need to get on me knees and ask advice the the King of kings first.”
Yeah like I would do that 🙂 But we NEED TO DO THAT. We must take every decision before the Lord and King. We need to take the little things and the ‘honkin’ things as my daughter would say.
So I would encourage you today – take your sadness before the King of kings. And when you face a decision that for whatever reason – you don;t have the answer to right then – take that before the King of kings as well.
Expect an Answer
You know something – He will answer you. It may take years, it may take seconds – but He will answer. Notice in verse Nehemiah answered the king. If God did not tell him what to do – do you think he would have run for his life? God will answer your questions.
But don’t expect the answer if you are not already in His Word. He can answer you anyway – if it pleases Him but don’t you think you are more apt to hear His answer if you are in His Book of Answers?
There is another lesson to be learned from this in verse 6. The importance of Goal Setting. We will touch on that later.
Be Blessed and Give with Passion!
Chris
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| James 3:13“[Two Kinds of Wisdom] Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”
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