Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

His heart lightened as his gaze fell over the gathered people. The worst of times had finally birthed the best of times. It had been a long time coming. A long, treacherous trek.  Many had been the roadblocks and near-certain cessation of the journey. Some days required every ounce of his God-given courage. Often sleepless nights were spent in broken prayers for wisdom. Hours of instructions and leading and encouraging the people had nearly drained his emotional fortitude. He wouldn’t change a thing. The hardships had all been worth it. The outcome was greater than he could have hoped.

When he’d first been given the report, Nehemiah almost wished he hadn’t asked. Although some of the Jewish exiles had returned to Jerusalem, their life wasn’t better. They were struggling. They were in despair, reproach, shame. The wall around Jerusalem, built to keep out their considerable enemies, was in miserable disrepair. Sections were broken. Stones had fallen out. Part had been consumed by fire. Other places appeared as though no wall had ever existed. They were defenseless. Completely vulnerable. Unprotected. Living in constant anxiety and fear of enemy encounters. More importantly, no one was doing anything about it. It broke his heart. Weighted his soul. Troubled his countenance. Enough to draw the attention of the king. (Nehemiah 1)

Perhaps it wouldn’t have taken much for the king to notice a change in Nehemiah’s demeanor. He was the cupbearer, after all. The man whose life stood between King Artaxerxes and death by poisoned wine. His character was impeccable. His loyalty absolute. Perhaps over time they had forged a bond. A relationship where they could speak freely with one another. The king could bemoan current affairs. The servant could offer insight regarding those outside the palace walls. The Bible doesn’t actually tell us the exact nature of the relationship, but it seems safe to assume Nehemiah had more pull with Artaxerxes than a simple sipper. Maybe the notice came from an oddly formed friendship. Perhaps it flowed from a silence normally filled with chatter. Maybe it sprang from a perceived continual threat of death. Most likely, it was an answer to the prayers Nehemiah had been continually crying out to his God. 

For days he’d been fasting and praying. Reminding himself of who God is. Confessing sin on behalf of himself and the people in Jerusalem. Failures and foibles and outright rebellions. There were no excuses. None could ever be acceptable. They deserved punishment. But God is faithful. Years before, in another time, another place, God made a promise. If they would return to Him and keep His commandments he would gather His people together back to the place He had chosen to place His name. It would be a fantastic work, and Nehemiah wanted to be part of it. He simply needed permission to go. A softened royal heart. A willing kingly hand.

In another time, another place, under a different king, the response to Nehemiah’s grief and outlandish requests might have been different. It would take little time to list kings and leaders whose hardened hearts would have happily refused his appeal. But God was already at work. Artaxerxes rubber-stamped the requests. All of them. Leave of absence. Letters of passage. Leverage with lumbermen. Nehemiah had passed the first hurdle. 

It wouldn’t be the last. Although the letters allowed him to pass, he made no friends on his journey. The governors of the intervening provinces were not pleased to see him or hear of his intent. No one wished him well or offered help. His survey of the dilapidated wall around Jerusalem was even more discouraging than his imagination had dreamed. Broken walls. Burned gates. Crushed rubble. Everything needed rebuilding. It would take weeks of steady work and the hands of many willing workers. It would also take armed guards. (Nehemiah 2)

For so long the city of Jerusalem had sat unprotected, fair game for bandits, marauding kings, and criminals. Easy prey with no wall of protection. Anything of value continually at risk of being carted away. Property. Women. Children. The wall would make it a fortress. A place that could offer at least a modicum of safety and peace to its inhabitants. A place into which no one could sneak for dastardly activities. A place Sanballat and Tobiah weren’t interested in having created. Gathering their cohorts, they concocted a plan to stop the work. 

Seeds of discord, confusion and misinformation spread throughout the surrounding Jewish communities. Some said the builder’s strength was failing. Some thought they would never accomplish such a monumental task. Others begged them to just come live with them. But God is not surprised or stymied by the ridiculous things that flow from man’s lips. He strengthened them through the words of Nehemiah. “Do not fear them. Remember the might and power of your God. Keep fighting. Keep working.” And they did. 

With posted guards and every man armed, they kept working. When the enemy came against them with words and threats, they kept working. When fear held them in a grip so perilous their flight response seemed the best option, they held fast and kept working. Why? Because they knew the words of Nehemiah were true. God was with them. God would be their strength. God would fight for them. And He did. (Nehemiah 3-4)

Fifty-two days from the start of the project, in spite of perils and troubles and threats and feuds, the wall was finished. The harrowing journey was over. Jerusalem was again a walled, gated, protected city. Celebratory excitement filled the air. Rejoicing and praising rang from their lips. For the first time in decades they felt a sense of rest. It was a moment they would never forget. Resounding with words they would never forget, a call to worship came from the lips of the Levites strongly resembling the words of Nehemiah when he first asked for their help in rebuilding the wall, “Get on your feet!” Get up. Get busy. The wall was finished but their job was not. There was more to do. They needed to bless the Lord.

It would have been so easy for the people to settle into their new, more secure life and forget everything that had made it possible. The blood. The sweat. The tears. Their misguided human minds could have put praise where it didn’t belong. Their hardworking selves. Their fearless leader Nehemiah. The generous king Artaxerxes who provided safe passage for Nehemiah and access to lumber for beams and building. In their joyous excitement to have the wall of Jerusalem and the gates of the Temple back in place, it would have been simple to forget God altogether. Except they couldn’t. The Levites wouldn’t let them. 

They wouldn’t let them remember only the most recent victory. No. They took them back to the dawn of time. The moment when their omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God, the One who exists from eternity to eternity, spoke the earth and all within it into existence. They reminded them that it is only through Him that humanity lives and breathes and is. He is their God. The God who entered into a one-sided covenant with His people. Knowing they were likely to fail at keeping their half, He entered just the same because His love, His longing for them was too great to deny. Time and again their sin had them in bondage, afflicted, abused. But God had rescued them over and over again, ready to forgive, gracious, merciful, full of unconditional love. His guidance and protection had brought them through the desert into kingdoms with great possessions. Eventually, they forgot Him again, but He never forgot them. Every time they cried, He answered. He continually kept His side of the covenant no matter how often they botched theirs. They needed to look back, even if they weren’t going that way, remember the amazing things God had done for His people, and get on their feet in praise and thanksgiving to their magnificent God!  (Nehemiah 5-9)

So do you. At a time when it is easy to look around you and be discouraged, disappointed, dispirited, don’t. Look back! As far back as your mind can remember. Recount the miraculous things God has done. All of them. Go back to the dawn of time. Read Genesis 1. Allow yourself to be amazed that from nothing God made everything. Recount Jesus’ birth. Find the accounts in Matthew and Luke. Read them for yourself. Let the wonder of the virgin birth wash over you again as if it was the first time you’ve heard it. Ponder Calvary. Feel the pain of nails maliciously driven through flesh. Hear the anguished cry of “It is finished!” Watch his chest heave that final time. Accept the responsibility, the knowledge, it was for you. It was all for you. Every tear. Every pain. Every drop of blood. Freedom from guilt and sin and hell. You don’t deserve it. Could never earn it. Yet still it was done. All for you. (Matthew 1-2, 27; Luke 2, 23; Mark15; Romans 5:6) 

So why are you still sitting there? Get on your feet! Get busy! Bless the Lord your God! He is always with you, rejoicing over you with singing. He daily covers you with His blessings, even when you don’t see them. His love for you is eternal, immovable, unmeasurable, even when you don’t feel it. His heart for you is Heaven, even when it seems a long way off. He’ll do anything to get you there, even if it takes a long trek through a dark valley of enemies. God has always been there, will always be there. This absolute truth should make your heart resound, your soul rise up, your voice cry out. The heavens should be exploding with the sounds of your praise. You should be on your feet!  (Zephaniah 3:17; Psalm 68:19; Jeremiah 31:3; II Peter 3:9; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 100; Psalm 150)