Visionary: Nehemiah

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

When it comes to dealing with adversity, one Biblical name stands out in my mind: Nehemiah. Few men in the Bible score as much points as this man when it comes to putting one’s vision ahead of one’s career, and few men’s lives testify to the amazing things that can result when one focuses one’s vision in life on something greater than himself.

Nehemiah’s career building history began as the royal cupbearer of Persian King Artaxerxes. Judea, Nehemiah’s home state, was a province of the Persian Empire, and its capital, Jerusalem, was in awful disarray when word came to Nehemiah via his brother Hanani about it.

After hearing of Jerusalem’s sorry state, Nehemiah revised his career building goals, and focused instead on a new vision in life: rebuilding the great wall of Jerusalem and helping bring it back to its former glory.

This was a cupbearer! Yet, Nehemiah’s career building efforts included a great relationship with the king, so when the time came for him to ask the king to let him leave so he could restore it, he was able to get permission. As a matter of fact, the king appointed him governor of Judea.

This was a cupbearer!

With assistance from the King, Nehemiah obtained assistance from the keeper of the royal forests and a strong escort. He rallied up the citizens of Judea, and together, they implemented a plan for the restoration of the city. Such was Nehemiah’s vision and life and attention to detail – assisted by God, of course – that the wall of Jerusalem was completed in a mere 52 days!

This was a cupbearer!

Of course, not everyone approved of Nehemiah’s vision in life, and soon enough, obstacles came his way. The most difficult of all were a group of naysayers led Tobiah the Ammonite and Geshem the Arab, henchmen of Sanballat, the governor of Samaria to the north of Judea. These three men tried to stop the rehabilitation of the city by harassing, bullying, and insulting the people led by Nehemiah. But the cupbearer’s faith in God and in his vision was extremely strong, and he saw the project through to completion. He even served as governor until his death.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer, but his vision in life and courage in seeing it through to completion despite obstacles and things greater than himself, standing in his way.

What about you? Can you see yourself handling intimidating obstacles standing in the way of your vision? Would you deal with it like Nehemiah? | 0 comments

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