My only Hope

Martin Luther defined faith as “a living, daring confidence in God’s grace; it is so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.” Nehemiah was a man of faith. From him we learned that a leader has to have the faith to WAIT:

Wait. In Nehemiah 1:1, Nehemiah received the bad news about Jerusalem’s walls lying in ruins in the month of Kislev (December). Burdened by what he heard, he brought the matter to God in prayer and fasting. Four months later, in the month of Nisan (April, Nehemiah 2:1) a breakthrough came. He persisted in prayer and mobilized a team of prayer warriors, and he waited on the Lord for:

• God’s direction: as to what his personal role would be, which was to rebuild the walls.
• God’s solution: the king’s favor.
• God’s timing: the right opportunity to talk to the king about the problem.

As we pray, we need to open our ears to God’s directions, and open our eyes for the opportunities that God will open up. This is how the CCF Dawnwatch started four years ago. Since then, many things began to unfold. It was through this corporate prayer time that God’s direction came for CCF to start implementing the D-12 strategy. The vision to build a worship and training center also came. The circumstances that followed, from the site selection, to the purchase, to the fundraising, had the stamp of God’s hand. God’s guidance also filtered through for CCF to reach out to the AFP and PNP officers, who are now being used by God to teach the Bible to the soldiers and other men in uniform under them.

Waiting on the Lord is never wasted time. As we wait, we get to know the heart and mind of God. As we get attuned to Him, our will and desires get aligned to His. God’s best for us, the abundant life, comes only as a result of waiting on the Lord, which brings us to a deeper level of intimacy with Him.

Ask. “Then the king said to me, ‘What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven’” (Neh. 2:4-5). The king’s words must have sounded like music to Nehemiah’s ears. It was the breakthrough that Nehemiah had been waiting for. Nehemiah had to tackle some concerns before he could actually ask for the king’s favor: he first had to have a vision, there must be a foundation of prayer, the readiness of a plan must be in place, the king’s mood must be right, the season must be perfect for travel, and trust must be deep between Nehemiah and the king. Right timing is very crucial.

Asking for help is not an easy thing to do as it entails humility. Nehemiah had every reason to be intimidated in asking from the king, specially because he could be held in contempt, since King Artaxerxes had already issued a decree putting a halt to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Ezra 4:13-21). But knowing he had God on his side, having gone to Him in prayer, Nehemiah had the confidence to ask. Because he had the faith to ask, the king granted his three requests:

• Permission – to take a leave of absence from work to  be able to return to Jerusalem despite 12 long years as cupbearer, a highly trusted position (Nehemiah 2:5-6).
• Protection – safe conduct to countries he would pass on his way from Susa in Persia (modern-day Iran) to Jerusalem  (Nehemiah 2:7).
• Provision – for construction materials needed to rebuild the walls and gates and for the residence he would occupy (Nehemiah 2:8-9).

Inspire. A leader is only effective when he is able to inspire and motivate his followers. A leader’s vision and strategy are important in getting people to move. A leader has to see the big picture and at the same time have an eye for detail. With meticulous planning, Nehemiah personally determined the extent of the problem. He journeyed to Jerusalem to survey the site and inspect the actual damage and the repair that needed to be done, careful not to leave anything to chance (Nehemiah 2:11-15). So as not to create any fuss or raise suspicion prematurely, he did it in secret under the cover of darkness during the night (Nehemiah 2:16). He strategically planed.

After careful study and planning, and at a time Nehemiah saw fit, he communicated his plans to his people. “Then I said to them, ‘You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer be a reproach’” (Neh. 2:17). He explained the WHY (so they won’t be a disgrace to the other nations and God’s Name will not be mocked); the WHAT (the work of rebuilding the walls); and the WHO of the project (that it was God’s agenda, not his, to rebuild the walls and, hence, it had the king’s approval). He enjoined them to work with him as a team, for the task was too great, and there were things that could not be done alone. Thus, Nehemiah was able to inspire the people to work alongside him, rising up to the challenge on their own without any coercion (Neh. 2: 18).   

As God has gifted each one of us with talents, we must use them to build up the body of Christ, the church.

Take A Stand. A leader will always face opposition (Nehemiah 2:10, 19). Despite the opposition Nehemiah faced, his confidence was in God. He did not allow opposition to sidetrack or stop him from doing what God wanted him to do. “So I answered them and said to them, ‘The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right, or memorial in Jerusalem’” (Neh. 2:20). 

Oposition comes not only through people but through Satan, our number one enemy (1 Peter 5:8). But God allows opposition and adversity to strengthen our faith and to make us more Christ-like. Satan will use other people to stop us and discourage us from doing what’s right and good. A leader must, therefore, be able to stand firm in the faith and continue doing the work of the Lord. We must be able to draw the line and stand up for Christ no matter what it takes.

Do you have the faith to WAIT – Wait, Ask, Inspire and Take A Stand? What faith situation are you currently facing in your life? Is your faith strong enough to make you wait patiently for God to move before you even take the first step? Is your faith bold and daring enough to ask even if it seems impossible? Is your faith dependent on God and not on yourself? Is your faith strong enough to inspire and motivate other people in God’s work? Is your faith firm enough that you are willing to take a stand even in the face of the fiercest opposition? Finally, what challenge do you need to rise up to like Nehemiah?

Are leaders born or made? Some are destined to be leaders. Others are made leaders by force of circumstance. There are those who, through training, acquire the skills for leadership and develop into leaders. Then there are those who rise up to the challenge to be one because it is the will of God.

A leader is an influencer, has the ability to persuade others to follow, and knows where he is going. Leadership in the secular world is all about authority and power, but in the biblical sense, a leader takes on a servant-helper role. Following leaders is a struggle enough for most, so leading is a tough act to follow. But we are all specially called to stand up as leaders. The Bible says we are to be salt and light of the earth, influencing others for Christ. In this context, any and every Christian is marked for leadership in our sphere of influence - home, office or community.

Apparent in the prophet Nehemiah are the qualities of a leader (See Nehemiah chapters 1 and 2). He is the kind of leader God wants to use–the kind of leader God wants all of us to become: 

1. A Man Of Vision. Being away from home in a foreign land, living in comfort and ease, and enjoying a trusted position in the King’s palace could have turned anyone into a self-absorbed, arrogant man, but not Nehemiah. His genuine concern for others made him care enough to ask about the living conditions of his countrymen and the prevailing situation in his hometown, Jerusalem. When informed that the walls fortifying Jerusalem were broken down and the Jews were in great distress, he got really disturbed. Compassion overtook him that he wept for his country and people. Christ had a similar experience: “And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Nehemiah saw the need to rebuild the walls to protect Jerusalem, and restore the broken lives of his people.

Those whom God wants to use are given a vision by planting a burden in their hearts. A vision that comes from the heart starts by seeing what the naked eye cannot see. But it really begins by setting our sights beyond the confines of our comfort zones. We can never be sensitive to people’s needs unless we are exposed to the realities around us and get personally involved with other people’s lives. A God-given vision is seeing what God can do, not limiting the vision by what we can do. Succeed it surely will!

Sharon Tan, founder of International Care Ministry, recounts how she caught God’s vision. She was an interior designer from Hong Kong, commissioned by a rich businessman from Manila to design his home; the toilet alone cost more than a million dollars. This brought her to the Philippines, and a visit to Bacolod opened her eyes to the poverty of the people there. A small makeshift toilet was serving an entire community. A poor lady’s dream house was all of five thousand pesos’ worth. A girl who developed gangrene in her legs was left to die. With the help of her business friends from Hong Kong, she began raising funds and did something about the three scenarios, and much more.  Seven years since, Sharon has been a missionary in Bacolod helping alleviate the plight of those from the lower social strata. She also supports pastors and missionaries there, and has asked CCF to train them in discipleship, leadership and ministry. 

Shouldn’t we Filipinos carry the same burden for our own countrymen that this lady from a foreign country has for them?  Helen Keller’s quote speaks a mouthful: “Worse than being blind is to be able to see but not have any vision.” Until we allow God to open our eyes, we will not have the sense of urgency to become ministers to the lost and the poor, to be shakers and movers toward national moral recovery through the Gospel. “Do you not say, There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest. Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (John 4:35, 37-38). Although this is the common vision for all Christians, we will have visions unique to each one of us. How we can impact for Christ depends on how sensitive we are to God’s vision for us and how willing we are to break barriers to fulfill it. As E. Paul Hovey said: “A blind man’s world is bounded by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world by the limits of his vision.” The small accountability group and the different ministries in CCF are avenues for God’s vision for us to see fruition.

2. A Man Of Prayer. We are too quick to criticize and point fingers. Rather than work toward becoming part of the solution to a problem, we exacerbate the situation by becoming part of the problem. In Nehemiah’s case, the heaviness in his heart brought him to his knees in prayer, weeping and fasting. The kind of prayer he uttered focused on the greatness of God, which made him realize how small, weak and sinful he was. It caused him to come to God in humility to confess his sins, his family’s sins, and his country’s. He assumed personal responsibility for his part in the sin problem that was the root cause of his country’s ruin. He brought the sad affairs of his nation to God’s attention, knowing that the great work that needed to be done can only be solved when placed in God’s Hands, for it was larger than life, and therefore cannot be accomplished by a mere man. 

Although the vision to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls was formed in his heart and mind, Nehemiah had to validate it through prayer. He allowed God to give him clarity of vision and the strategy to bring it about. Though he had access to and enjoyed the trust and confidence of the king, he knew only God could touch the heart of the king so he would find favor in his sight regarding his dilemma. Samuel Chadwick points out: “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” When dealing with problems, we often resort to long-winded discussions, bickering and passing the buck–completely failing to tap the power of God through prayer. In fact, we limit God from doing His work through us.  J. Hudson Taylor shares: “I used to ask God if He would come and help me. Then I asked if I could come and help Him. Finally, I ended by asking God to do His own work through me.” Howard Hendricks’ words tell us to be circumspect: “My fear is not that you will fail but you will succeed in the wrong thing.”

3. A Man Of Action. There are people who are all talk yet do nothing. Doers take action instead. A vision is born when we see the need and our hearts are wrenched by what we see that it stirs us to do something about it. A good, effective leader goes full steam ahead in the direction where his vision takes him. Nehemiah, after being burdened and after praying about it, seized the opportunity when the king, upon his own initiative, asked him what was troubling him. Nehemiah briefed the king about the state of his native land, made known his desire to return to it, laid out his plans for its restoration, and sought the king’s blessing. He got what he wanted, lost no time, rolled up his sleeves, and got right down to business. 

Being a man of vision, prayer and action, Nehemiah was able to lead and galvanize his people to work together in unity toward rebuilding his nation. Wouldn’t you agree that our country needs as much spiritual fortification through visionary leaders? Will the modern-day Nehemiahs of the Philippines please stand up?