You’ll hear this verse come up a lot in today’s service. Without wanting to steal too much of Sally’s thunder, it’s a cornerstone of Nehemiah.
We tend to be drawn to successful people. It used to be people who were rich but I think most of us are a little too cynical of that now. Instead I think we tend to be drawn to people with power and fame. We are drawn to the pop stars and the politicians. We’re drawn even more so to the revolutionaries and the movement starters. Just look at all the T-shirts with Che Guevara or Steve Jobs on. As Christians we are drawn to the big names with the big churches. It’s them that get invited to the festivals and sell the books.
When Nehemiah went to Jerusalem he didn’t tell them about his power, but of the gracious hand of God on him. What if instead of looking for the next big name, we look at who has God’s hand upon them? Sometimes that can be the same person (after all, Nehemiah was a cup-bearer), but it is not always a given. I doubt I need to list Christian ministers that have flown on power, then crashed and burned!
And what about you? Where in your life can you see God’s gracious hand at work? What would never have happened without God working in you?