The Daily Word

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Back in the Old Testament, Nehemiah was a Jew who was living in exile in Persia. He was quite fortunate in that he had obtained a job as the cupbearer to the king, so he was moving in exalted circles, even though he was still a servant. He was normally cheerful and keen as he served the king but then he had some bad news from his home country and his demeanour changed so much that the king asked him what had gone wrong in his life. It all led to Nehemiah being freed to return to Israel and rebuild, particularly the city of Jerusalem and the Temple.

In Romans 12, the next exhortation that Paul writes goes like this “ but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord”. As human beings, we are susceptible to mood swings usually determined by outside stresses. Nehemiah was under stress, the king could have had him executed for exhibiting a bad attitude. But he had a plan, he prayed to God urgently and silently and God answered his prayer and gave him favour with the king. And that is the key to keeping our spiritual fervour, because we are not serving a human ruler but God Himself. We should never be passive Christians. God has given each of us a role within our church and outside the church and we should seek to fulfil that role with enthusiasm and as the Bible puts it, fervour. If we find our enthusiasm waning, ask God, like Nehemiah, and God will answer our prayer, if that prayer is offered with real intent and faith.

Article written by Brian Preston, Elder @SFGH Church 

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