To be meaningful in life and to be successful is something that every human being aspires to. For we were created in the image of God, with a unique destiny (cf. Genesis 9: 7 and Ephesians 2:10). To be successful, then, is simply to accomplish what we have been fashioned by God to do. Which means that it has nothing to do with our life circumstances and our surroundings, on the contrary! In the above verse it is about Nehemiah, to put the context this last is exiled in a foreign country and servant of the king. When he hears about the situation in Jerusalem, his heart is seized by the call to rebuild the walls to give glory to the city and protection to the people ... All his circumstances are opposed to the realization of this, it is was an impossible dream and yet his attitude changed everything… Just as your attitude can change everything for you!
He positioned himself before God by dedicating his life to Him in fasting and prayer (cf. Nehemiah 1: 4). He poured out his heart before God making himself available to accomplish His work by asking Him for success (cf. Nehemiah 1:11). Adopting the right attitude is essential, it is a question of not considering what is impossible, to focus on the greatness and the power of God. It is also a question of knowing how to pay the necessary price, for Nehemiah, these are days and nights of prayer and fasting, but also the risk of leaving his office with the king for a task totally beyond him. There can be no success without sacrifice and a price to pay!
In this verse Nehemiah speaks of the good hand of God which is on him, it is an attitude that you need to adopt. Namely that God loves you, you are His beloved child in whom He has put all His affection (Matthew 3; 17). He has chosen you and appointed you for good works which He has prepared for you in advance so that you may have fruit and fruit which remains (cf. Ephesians 2:10 and John 15:16) . Even if you don't know what it is yet, declare these verses and put your life at His disposal. You can be confident that the Holy Spirit will begin to speak to your heart and lead you into something extraordinary, challenging and so satisfying… It starts with your attitude, so it's up to you to position yourself!
Nehemiah goes on to speak of the words that the king had addressed to him, it is the favor of the authority which he received, the release and the sending to accomplish the mission. Your attitude is decisive, expect God to grant you the favor of those around you to accomplish His mission. It is also recognizing that He is the King and that He is the one who wishes to speak in your life to give you His instructions and His mission order. The right attitude is therefore not only to know how to be available for God, but to be ready to obey and to take action to accomplish His will! God has something to tell you, and you won't be able to hear it until you are ready to obey!
The end of the verse implies that not only did Nehemiah change his position to put himself into action to live His success, but also that he knew how to launch the invitation around him so that others join him to build what God planned. As you move into action, you also have a responsibility to invite other people to change their attitude to obey and build His work with you. There are people around you who are just waiting for you to invite them to jump into action with you on some amazing projects, so do it!
God has blessed you richly so that you bless abundantly ...
Luke
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