Rise Up But Stay Humble

Our journey through the book of Nehemiah has been right on time in my life.  At one point in time, the Christian streets were ablaze with the prayer of Jabez.  We wanted God to enlarge our territories.  We wanted all that He had for us, but there is a problem.  Some of us cannot handle increase.  When we are elevated, we start talking out of the side of our necks.  We forget where we came from.  Nehemiah has moved from prayer to promise.  God provided Nehemiah what he asked for and then some.  Sunday’s sermon reminded us that while we should rise up to the call that God has placed on our lives, we should also remain humble.

Nehemiah 5:14-19 places us smack dab in the middle of Nehemiah’s increase.  When the work began on the rebuilding of the wall, Nehemiah was basically a foreman.  He oversaw the construction.  As time has passed, Nehemiah has been elevated to the position of governor.  Thankfully, Nehemiah did not use this promotion as an opportunity to walk around like the big man on campus. 

Governors that served previously took from the people, but Nehemiah chose to operate differently in his elevation.  Since his life was better, he was committed to making the lives of the people better.  He prepared enough food for 500 people to eat daily.  Like every day.  EVERY DAY.  And asked nothing of them because he knew that it would have been a hardship on them.  How many of us can say that we have that level of humility?  While I am not a selfish person, hearing of his level of commitment to making life better for others surely challenges me to step my game up.

Nehemiah was grateful for his blessings, and he also remained focused on his assignment.  This is the part where many of us fall off.  More money.  Nicer cars.  Bigger houses.  Being the first in our family to graduate from high school or college.  And we get distracted.  We start smelling ourselves as the old folks say.  When our physical needs are met without as much struggle, when our relationships are intact with little strife, and our finances are on point, we lose sight of our need for connection to God.  We do not use our time to do what He has asked us to do.  Nehemiah continued to build.  Ya’ll increase is an opportunity for us to reach more people.  Blessings should propel us to work harder.

Every elevation or promotion that we receive is bigger than us.  Nehemiah was no fool.  He continued to put God first and asked God to remember him.  Nehemiah was not working for himself.  He was working to restore God’s people.  The church had been in shambles long enough.  His obedience to God led to a visual symbol of the God’s strength and power.  Well, there it is.  Our Christian walk is bigger than us.  When we rise up and forget about the God that raised us, we are in danger of leading others astray.  We were not called to build ourselves up.  We were called to lift up the name of Christ.  When we lift His name, He draws all to Himself.

Yes, we have been called to rise up, but we should stay humble.  God wants His children to prosper.  The sad reality is that many of us only have prosperous relationships with God because of our struggles.  I do not know about you, but I want more than that.  God should be able to prosper us in all areas of our life and know that we will remain committed to Him.  Well, I am volunteering to be elevated.  Do not worry.  I know where my help comes from.  #wepreach

Raise your thinking and answer these questions:

• Name ways that you make the lives of others around you better. This is not a hypothetical list. Think of ways that you currently make a difference.
• Are you a team player? Why or why not?