What I have learnt this week?

I have been reading the book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah was a Jew, living in exile in Susa. He was a wine taster for King Artaxerxes. The city of Jerusalem was all broken down and the Jewish people living there had not bothered to repair the protective wall around it. The situation was desparate. Nehemiah hears about this and he is saddened by this situation. Through a series of events he returns to Jerusalem and rallys the people to begin rebuilding the wall. There are a number of people who are opposed to this and try a number of ways to distract Nehemiah from his task. They try scaring them away, they try shaming them and even they try tricking them, but Nehemiah stays focued on his task. In chapter 6, the priest gets into the act and invites Nehemiah to the temple to talk about the project. Nehemiah rejects the meeting realizing that this was a trick to get him away from his job.

I admire Nehemiah for his belief and focus. He believed that God had brought him back to Jerusalem for the task of rebuilding the wall. God provided him with the materials and the knowledge of how to do the job, also with the ability to motivate the people to do the job. He was not distracted from his task even by what would appear as significant opposition and obstacles. Also he was not tricked into abandoning his mission even by what would appear as religious activity.

It is easy to confuse religious activity with God's plan for our lives. Here at Handong there are so many good religious activites that one can get involved with. I am reminded that I need to follow the plan that God has called us to and not to become distracted by other 'good' things but focus on the areas that God has in mind for me.

Mom