Daily Dose of Hope

March 4, 2025

Day 3 of Week 49

 

Scripture:  Nehemiah 1-3; Revelation 5

 

Welcome back, everyone, to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements the daily Bible reading plan at New Hope Church in Brandon, Florida. 

 

Today, we start the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.  The way that Nehemiah came to be a leader of his people was by the influence exerted on him by a fellow Jew named Hanani, who is mentioned at the beginning of this book. Hanani came to Nehemiah with a report that the Jews in Jerusalem were struggling and experiencing great distress. The year was 445 B.C. By this point, it had been 90 years since Cyrus allowed the Jews to leave Babylon and begin to rebuild in Jerusalem and it had been 70 years since the completion of the temple. The Persian Empire was at its height but the small Jewish community in Jerusalem was hurting badly; survival was precarious.

 

Nehemiah was a faithful Jew who knew and studied the Law. But he was also the cup bearer for the king. He lived well. He could have ignored the report from Hanani but he didn’t. He was grieved by the distress of his fellow Jews and he decides to do something about it, regardless of the consequences. He begins to pray and fast and trusts that God will provide both direction and provisions.

 

How often are we deeply moved by something in the world–homelessness, human trafficking, families in crisis, suicide–and we do nothing because we just aren’t sure what to do. It’s complicated to care. We spend a few moments distressed by the topic and we move on. What would have happened to the fledgling Jewish community in Jerusalem if Nehemiah had simply been distressed but then moved on? History may have been different. God used Nehemiah. God wants to use us too. He has called us to live out his mission in this world. If God lays something on our heart, there is a reason for that. He doesn’t want us to move on but to get moving, praying, fasting, and listening. What has God put on your heart? Even if it’s a complicated problem, God can and will make a way.

 

Nehemiah knows he has to do something.  But he has an important job working for the king of Persia.  Nehemiah must have been truly admired by the king. The king actually notices because Nehemiah looks distressed and he asks Nehemiah what’s going on. Nehemiah could have just said, “I’m fine.” After all, he feared the king. The Scripture actually says that Nehemiah was very much afraid. Keep in mind, the Persian king had absolute power and literally held Nehemiah’s life in his hands.

 

But here we see a turning point in Nehemiah. Rather than give into his fear, he speaks up. He prays to God, listens to God, and speaks up. He is honest and tells the king what’s going on in Jerusalem. He asks if the king would allow him to take a leave of absence (of sorts) from his job as cup bearer to help his Jewish brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. Friends, that took courage. I think I should reiterate: Nehemiah was fearful BUT he prays to God, he listens to God, he trusts God, and he speaks up. Let that sink in. How often do we give in to fear and not speak OR we speak too quickly before praying and listening to God?

 

In chapter 3, we find God’s people getting to work rebuilding the wall around the city of Jerusalem. What’s fascinating to me about this text is the detail. We can see how individual people are given credit for their contribution to this important work. This wall they were rebuilding would protect the city and its inhabitants from invaders and those who opposed them. Before anyone could sleep well at night or prosper at all, they needed protection.

 

These men of God ensured that happened. The author lists the names. I love this! Each contribution was important. These were real people who stopped their lives for a period of time to do God’s work. They didn’t work on the wall to get famous (I’m guessing they had no idea their name would show up in the best-selling book of all time!) They did what they felt God calling them to do–the humble but necessary work. Think of all those people who have gone before us, who did the humble and necessary work, to invest in our lives, our Christian journeys, and this church.

 

As I think about my last 18 years at New Hope, many faces and names come to mind, people who led my Bible studies, prayed for me, invested in me, fed me, led this church, took care of my children in the nursery, and basically created a way for me to learn, grow, and prosper in my faith. These were real people who made what may have seemed like humble or simple contributions but yet changed the course of my Christian walk. What about you? Who are those people who made the humble and necessary contributions which led you to where you are right now? Take a moment, name them, and give thanks for their lives. If possible, reach out and tell them the difference they made. If that isn’t possible, just give a prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving, giving glory to the God who created them and placed them in your life.

 

Our New Testament text is Revelation 5.  Yesterday, in chapter 4, we read about and visualized the never-ending worship of God which has gone on in heaven forever. Today, the scene shifts a bit. Now, the Lamb of God, obviously slain from his time on earth, enters the picture. The voice John hears says that it is only the Lamb of God, only Jesus Christ himself, who is worthy to open the judgment scroll, sealed by God. In fact, it will be Jesus who will eventually enact the coming judgments.

 

The twenty-four elders worship the Lamb in the same way they had worshiped creator God on the throne. But now they are singing a new song, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” In this new song, we see Jesus being praised for redeeming people from all tribes, languages, and nations. All people on the whole earth are invited to receive salvation and redemption from Jesus Christ. Try to wrap your brain around this: Jesus died to save the whole world, every person from every nation from every time period that has ever existed. Jesus is worthy to be praised.

 

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki