Day 4


“Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. I was cupbearer to the king.” Nehemiah 1:11
“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Nehemiah comes before God in humility. He recognises God’s greatness and approaches the Lord as His servant and as one who honours God’s name. His delight is in the fear of the Lord just like Jesus, the Branch of Jesse (Isaiah 11:3). Humility is dependence on God, rather than on self. As the king’s cupbearer and as one who knew what it meant to approach a king and to serve authority, Nehemiah lived in the natural what he lived in the spirit. John reminds us of this important principle when he writes, “anyone who does not love is brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:19)! Integrity is living in the natural what we live in the spirit. In Christ-likeness Nehemiah was humble before God and man, which gave him access to favour from God and favour from man (see Luke 2:52). Integrity and humility are the foundation for favour with God and man. May our lives be marked by integrity and humility as we seek favour from God and man to fulfil the Lord’s purposes on earth. 

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"Ach Herr, lass doch dein Ohr aufmerksam sein auf das Gebet deines Knechtes und auf das Gebet deiner Knechte, die das Verlangen haben, deinen Namen zu fürchten, und lass es doch deinem Knecht heute gelingen, und gib ihm Barmherzigkeit vor diesem Mann! — Ich war nämlich der Mundschenk des Königs" Nehemiah 1,11
"Gott widersetzt sich den Stolzen, gibt aber den Demütigen Gnade" (Jakobus 4,6). Nehemia kommt in Demut vor Gott. Er erkennt die Größe Gottes und nähert sich dem Herrn als sein Diener und als jemand, der den Namen Gottes ehrt. Seine Freude liegt in der Furcht vor dem Herrn, genauso wie Jesus, der Zweig aus dem Stamm Isais (Jesaja 11,3). Demut ist Abhängigkeit von Gott und nicht von sich selbst. Als Mundschenk des Königs und als jemand, der wusste, was es bedeutet, sich einem König zu nähern und dieser Autorität zu dienen, lebte Nehemia im Natürlichen das, was er auch im Geist lebte. Johannes erinnert uns an dieses wichtige Prinzip, wenn er schreibt: "Denn wer seinen Bruder nicht liebt, den er sieht, der kann nicht Gott lieben, den er nicht sieht." (1 Joh. 4,19)! Integrität bedeutet, im Natürlichen das zu leben, was wir im Geist leben. In Christusähnlichkeit war Nehemia vor Gott und Mensch demütig, was ihm den Zugang zur Gunst von Gott und Gunst vom Menschen ermöglichte (siehe Lukas 2,52). Integrität und Demut sind die Grundlage für die Gunst vor Gott und Mensch. Möge unser Leben von Integrität und Demut geprägt sein, wenn wir vor Gott und Mensch um Gnade bitten, um die Ziele des Herrn auf Erden zu erfüllen.

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