In Nehemiah 2, we see that Nehemiah was a leader; he worked for the King of Persia in the capital. He was an administrator and was well respected. Persia controlled Jerusalem and much of Judea as about 80 years before, Persia conquered Babylon and Cyrus decreed that the Jews could return home. Nehemiah had heard of many issues that Ezra (The High Priest) and the Jews were having rebuilding Jerusalem. It broke his heart and he was praying for God to continue to lead in the restoration of his people to their homeland. God had already been working through circumstances as the Persians overtook the Babylonians and were much more friendly toward allowing exiles to return to their home country and rebuild. And, God had also been preparing the heart of the King for favor toward Nehemiah. Furthermore, it was highly likely that Esther was the Queen mentioned in Nehemiah 2, which gave Nehemiah further favor. Nehemiah responded with a request born out of prayer and from God’s vision for him. Nehemiah never imagined God would use him to fulfill his plan, but he desired to discover God’s vision and act when he knew it was time, the King’s questioned was when Nehemiah knew God wanted him to do something. Two things we can learn from Nehemiah as we begin the New Year:
- Vision comes from our burden to know the will of God, to become whatever it is God wants us to become. Vision is when we move toward what God has for us. It’s discovering where Christ wants to take us.
In contrast…
- Goal setting is the projection of our perceptions of what we want to accomplish. Goal setting is man-derived and when not directly related to vision, it must be subservient to it.
In this New Year, let’s ask God for vision…to become a part of what He is doing. Setting personal goals is fine, but it pails in comparison to the joy and excitement of realizing God’s vision for our lives.
