Nehemiah 1:3-4, 7, 10-11 NKJV
And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayer of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”
For I was the king’s cupbearer.
Nehemiah first had to face reality. He had to look destruction and sin in the face & accept responisbility for where they are as a broken people. He had to let the Lord make him broken over the sins of the people, to the point of weeping and repentance.
It's scarey to be real & come clean before a Holy God. It's hard to admit how far we fall sometimes. But God already knows both. He can only work in a willing vessel. How many times has God tried to humble me? Have I listened?
