YM Devo: God’s Protection
Recently, in my own personal devotions, I came across Psalm 40. I love Psalm 40 for a variety of reason (1 being it's a U2 song), but verse 11 really stuck out to me.
Psalm 40:11 says, "Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.
This was David sharing and it was a verse that I hung onto for the rest of that week and even today. Here is what I got out of it.
- He asked God to "not withhold your mercy from me". Basically he is saying that he knows he is a sinful guy and that he has messed up a bunch. So as he is trying to do what is right he is asking for God to be merciful and gracious to him. As followers of Christ and Youth Ministers, we are going to make mistakes and not handle situations the most appropriate ways. But the great news is God has plenty of grace and mercy for all of us to go around.
- He says, "may your love...always protect me." I believe love is personal. Relationships in general are messed up as they can be very self-centered and conditional; a sort of a "what have you done for me lately" mindset. This is particularly true of our ministering to teenagers. If we "wrong" them in some way, they shut us out completely. But what I appreciate the most is that God gives unconditional love and it will always cover and protect us no matter what situation we are in. His love is greater than all things and it will protect us through the great times and the bad as long as we allow ourselves to feel the love.
- Finally he says, "may your truth always protect me." The fact is people will always have their own version of the truth as truth can sometimes be how we perceive things to be (whether we are right or wrong). We may be falsely accused of something or confronted with something that is inaccurate which may really stink and cause tension at work or at home. But the reality is that the REAL truth rests in the Lord. After all He did say, "I am the way, the TRUTH and the life". He is the ultimate truth and understanding. We have to continue to trust in Him and His truth no matter what happens here on earth.
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
- YM Devo: It Takes Time
- YM Devo: Facing Opposition
- YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
- YM Devo: Assessing Your Walls
YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
Read Nehemiah 12:27-47
Questions to ponder:
- How did the Israelites choose to celebrate the completion of the Jerusalem wall?
- What does this show you about how they view God in the midst of the completion of the wall?
God clearly opened doors and provided the way for Nehemiah to come back to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. Because of all that God did in their midst to rebuild the wall, Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem chose to honor God and give Him the glory in the most appropriate way. For instance, at the dedication, they did a few things:
- They sought out Levites and brought them "to Jerusalem to celebrate joyfully the dedication with songs of thanksgiving and with the music of cymbals, harps and lyres." (v. 27)
- Gathered singers together for songs (v.28)
- The Priests and the Levites purified themselves, the people of Jerusalem, the gates and the wall (v. 30)
- Two Choirs were created and performed marched around the wall and then took their place in the house of God, rejoicing the whole time (v. 31-42)
- They offered great sacrifices (v. 43)
My favorite part of this whole story was that "the sound of rejoicing in Jerusalem could be heard far away." (v.43) They were so excited and overjoyed about what God did that they sang their hearts out! What a powerful witness not just to the people of Jerusalem but to those people far away. They could hear Jerusalem praising God and giving Him the glory.
Do we honor God and give Him the glory this way? Or, have we gotten away from this kind of celebration? Have we been content in just giving him the glory and honor through just a simple, "thank you" or "God is great" comment? Or, do we still honor God and give Him the glory the most appropriate way possible?
Think of the possibilities that lie ahead if we rejoice in the Lord as the people of Jerusalem did. Others may hear and come to know Him. Others may even be uplifted in their faith. Even more may be encouraged to take a step of faith that they have been hesitant about. God can use this in countless ways.
Application:
Do we give honor and praise to God when he works in our midst?
Think of the last time God did something great in your ministry or personal life. I hope it was very recent. What did you do to give God honor and glory for what He did?
Take a few minutes to write down some past and recent accomplishments God did. Then, spend some time giving him glory and honor. Finally, make it your goal today to share with others about something great God has done and pray that God would use that to further His kingdom.
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: God’s Protection
- YM Devo: It Takes Time
- YM Devo: Facing Opposition
- YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
- YM Devo: Assessing Your Walls
YM Devo: It Takes Time
Read Nehemiah 6:15-16
Questions to ponder:
- How many days did it take to finish the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Wall?
- How did Jerusalem's enemies respond?
The Lord did an amazing work in Jerusalem. But, he did not just snap his finger like a genie and the wall was built instantaneously. Rather, it took time and many steps to get there. It started when He created a passion inside Nehemiah to rebuild the wall (Neh. 1:4-7). Then he created an open door for Nehemiah to leave his job as a servant of the King (Neh. 2:6). After that, Nehemiah was able to get a workforce to help him rebuild the wall (Neh. 2:17-18). Finally, when Jerusalem's enemies tried to disrupt the rebuilding effort, God provided Nehemiah with a way to discourage the would-be attackers (Neh. 3:9, 15).
All these things that happened to Nehemiah in the rebuilding of the wall were small things that lead to the completion of a GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT! In all, it took 54 days to rebuild the wall, but longer than that from the calling of Nehemiah to the completion.
In the same way, when we follow God and offer up prayers and petitions, sometimes God doesn't just snap his finger and WHAM, our prayers are answered. Sometimes it takes times and a bit longer than what we want or expect. But just because it may take some time, that does not mean God is not working. In fact, God is constantly working all around us. But sometimes it is not so obvious to see where He is working or what exactly He is working towards. They are not always gigantic moves like separating the Red Sea or having manna appear. Although He has done great works like that and can continue to do them, it does seem that more often than not, they are small steps that ultimately lead to a great victory when it is all said and done with.
Just recently, I have made it part of my prayer time to pray that God would open doors to new opportunities (not necessarily career moves, but new opportunities to lead my family and to share about Christ as well). Not that I have never prayed these things before, but I have been much more intentional about it lately. Each day I have been praying and I have tried to be more observant and look for where God is working and leading. Because I am looking for the Lord's work throughout the day, I have felt that I sense God's direction and path more and more each day that I commit to prayer. It has encouraged me a lot lately as He has provided some great direction. But, there has been no WHAM moment. They have been small steps that I believe will eventually, in his timing, lead to a great result.
God is active and alive all around us and in our lives. Sometimes we just need to be patient and wait for the Lord to move, day by day and step by step. He does hear our petitions. We may just have to be patient. He may answer our prayers immediately, or in a week, or 54 days or maybe even longer. Our job is to be faithful to continue to offer up prayers and petitions and then patiently trust in his timing. Then, as Psalm 40:1-5 shows us, as we wait patiently for the Lord, He does hear our cry and He will provide.
Application:
- Spend some time praying and meditating with the Lord. Ask Him to reveal where He is moving and what He is working on so that you might join up. Ask Him to reveal to you your next steps in life and ministry.
- After you are done praying, write down some things you felt that the Lord laid on your heart. Then, be on the look-out for God's moving in and around you.
Trust the Lord and allow His timing to happen. It may take longer than we expect, but as Nehemiah's example and Psalm 40:1-5 shows us, we will be better off because of it.
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: God’s Protection
- YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
- YM Devo: Facing Opposition
- YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
- YM Devo: Assessing Your Walls
YM Devo: Facing Opposition
Read Nehemiah 4
Some questions to answer:
- Who was upset with Nehemiah for rebuilding the wall? Why were they upset?
- As they continued to face threats and opposition, what two things did Nehemiah and the Israelites do?
Encouragement:
Things looked so promising for Nehemiah in his quest to rebuild the Jerusalem wall and restore hope to the people of Israel. The Lord was clearly blessing his every move and they had begun working on restoring the wall. But then, as with all great stories you read or see in the movie theaters, we find out that nothing is ever that easy or simple. As they were making progress on the wall, Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod became very angry and plotted ways that they could join forces to stir up trouble (Nehemiah 4:7-8). They didn't want the Jerusalem wall to be rebuilt and they certainly didn't want hope restored to Israel so they were going to try to stop them.
So what did Nehemiah do when he was faced with this opposition? He prayed and he protected. Everything that had happened to Nehemiah up until this point was the Lord opening doors and providing a way for the wall to be rebuilt. Was God now going to leave him hanging after he had gotten this far? Of course not! In James 1:5-6 it says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." Nehemiah needed wisdom and the Lord's help. So he prayed and the Lord provided wisdom for what to do.
Not only did Nehemiah pray, but he protected. He positioned people at the lowest points and the weakest areas of the wall with spears, swords and body of armor. He made sure that people were standing guard through the day and night to protect the wall and people of Jerusalem.
Similar to Nehemiah, I believe that if God is moving in your life and/or ministry, you will face opposition somewhere. After all, Satan can not stand to allow God to be victorious. Whether it is a conflict in a personal relationship or an angry parent or even a discord in your leadership, if God is working, Satan will throw up opposition somewhere, somehow. The question is how do you respond to that opposition? Where do you turn?
TAKE A MINUTE and reflect/respond to these questions.
Application:
- When you face hardship in your personal life, what do you normally do?
- When you face hardship in your ministry, what do you normally do?
- How can God be a bigger part of the answer in how you respond to those times of opposition?
- Is there an action that you need to take based on some opposition you are facing or will face down the road?
When you face opposition, be encouraged by what Nehemiah said to those who were stationed to protect against possible attack. He said, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (v. 14, emphasis mine). In addition, in v. 20, he said, "our God will fight for us!" Let us prayerfully and strategically continue the fight remembering always that our God is great and awesome! He will provide us wisdom and discernment through the toughest of times and the hardest opposition. We have to remain faithful to Him and continue to turn to Him through it all.
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: God’s Protection
- YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
- YM Devo: It Takes Time
- YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
- YM Devo: Assessing Your Walls
YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
Read Nehemiah 3
Some questions to ponder:
- How many groups of people helped in rebuilding the wall?
- What were some of the different jobs that were involved in rebuilding the wall?
- How much of the wall did Nehemiah rebuild?
- What does this show you about involving others?
Encouragement:
It was Nehemiah's passion and heart to begin to rebuild the Jerusalem wall (Nehemiah 1). But he could not rebuild it alone. He needed help from others. First he needed the King to let him go of his duties and head back to Jerusalem. Then, in this passage, we see that it was others who helped rebuild the wall. In fact, there were so many groups of people involved in helping that Nehemiah was not even mentioned as being apart of any of the repair crews!
In the same way, when we are called into a ministry position, people will look towards us for leadership, vision and direction. Like Nehemiah, God has given us a vision, passion and desire to undertake this ministry. But just as Nehemiah knew that he would not be able to build the wall all by himself, we need to recognize our need for help. Without help and support from others, our effectiveness and ability to succeed will be limited.
Whether it is in our personal lives or in ministry, you need to get others involved. Much is at stake - your families, marriages, the lives of youth you serve and their families. That is why you need to surround yourself with others who will care for and support you personally as well as help you fight in this mission to win youth for the Lord. If you try to pull a Lone Ranger and go after Christ and youth alone, you run the risk of never truly being effective as a follower and minister of Him.
Personal Application:
- What kind of support network do you and your family have that encourages you in your life, your relationship with Christ and your marriage?
- If you do not have a group of people that encourages you in these areas, identify a person or group of people you can get involved with so that you can have the fellowship and accountability you need to thrive.
Ministry Application:
- Examine what kind of help you have in reaching students for Christ. Do you have enough adequate help?
- If you do not, what is 1 thing you could do this week to get more people involved so that you can be reaching students more effectively?
- If you do have adequate support, DELEGATE at least 1 thing you normally do to a volunteer. That way you are encouraging and inspiring them to be more effective in their ministry.
In all, it took the people of Jerusalem 54 days to rebuild the wall (Nehemiah 6:15-16). I wonder how long it would have taken if Nehemiah just tried to rebuild it alone. Get others involved in both your personal life and ministry. When you do that, you will benefit but also others will as well because they get to step up and walk alongside of you through all that life and ministry have to throw at you.
TAKE A MINUTE and pray that God would examine your life and ministry for ways that people can come alongside of you.
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: God’s Protection
- YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
- YM Devo: It Takes Time
- YM Devo: Facing Opposition
- YM Devo: Assessing Your Walls
YM Devo: Assessing Your Walls
Read Nehemiah 2:11-20
Some questions to process:
- What sticks out to you in these verses?
- What was the first thing Nehemiah did with the Jerusalem wall?
- What was his assessment of the wall?
- How did the workers respond to Nehemiah's challenge?
Before Nehemiah got into actually rebuilding the Jerusalem wall, he had to do an assessment of the wall. He had to find out where the weak points were so he could hit those rough spots first. Once those weak areas were rebuilt and strengthened, the city of Jerusalem would be stronger and better equipped to defend herself.
As you can see from the map, the Jerusalem wall covered a lot of area. I am sure Nehemiah wasn't able to do a quick, 10 minute assessment in which he could stick blue tape by each weak or destroyed wall for the builders to know what to do. He had to look at the structure of the area around it, look at what supplies would be needed to repair it and probably how many men it would take to repair each section.
Once he finished the assessment, he gathered support from the people and they began to rebuild the wall. Just as Nehemiah examined and assessed the Jerusalem wall, it is equally important for all of us (followers of Christ and ministers) to assess our walls to make sure we can be as strong for Christ as possible.
Encouragement:
I know it is not easy to look for weak or struggling areas in our lives or ministry. It can be a very humbling experience. But, as Peter points out in 1 Peter 5:5-6, when we humble ourselves, he will lift us up - "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." We need to humble ourselves before the Lord and ask Him for his guidance and his plan for how we can improve our lives and ministry.
After Nehemiah examined the walls, he devised a plan to strengthen them. The walls improved and was eventually rebuilt. When we ask the Lord to inspect our hearts and reveal to us what areas need improving, we can not expect God to repair those weak areas in our lives overnight. But if we seek God's wisdom, devise a plan and stick to it, we will be successful in rebuilding our walls as well.
TAKE A MINUTE and pray that God would allow you to see the walls in your life that you can begin to repair and strengthen them so you can glorify Him with who you are in all that you do in your life and ministry.
Personal Application:
- Take an assessment of your personal life. What are some strong areas and weak areas in your life?
- Of the weak areas, what steps do you need to take to improve them?
Ministry Application:
- Take an assessment of your ministry. What are the 2-3 strong walls you have standing? What makes them solid?
- What are the 2-3 weak walls in your ministry? What can you do to improve them?
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: God’s Protection
- YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
- YM Devo: It Takes Time
- YM Devo: Facing Opposition
- YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
YM Devo: What Are You Building?
This is a new "Category" and something I will be doing once a week. As a youth minister I know that being fed spiritually consistently is hard to do as we can sometimes get so caught up in doing God's work, we fail to allow God to work in us. Don't get me wrong, being fed spiritually is a MUST, but it can be hard to do sometimes. So from now on, once a week, I will post a devotional specifically designed for youth ministers. It will include a section to read, some reflections and both personal and ministry applications.
As this will be a work in progress, if there is anything you like or dislike, please let me know so I can best meet your needs.
YM Devo: What Are You Building?
Read Nehemiah 1-2:8
Some questions to answer:
- Who was Nehemiah?
- What was on his heart to do? Why do you think he wanted to do that?
- How was God instrumental in allowing him to go on his mission?
Nehemiah was just a simple cup-bearer. He didn't have real power or authority to do anything. But his heart was to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall that was destroyed when Israel was taken over. Why the Jerusalem wall? It does not say for sure, but back in those days, a lot of cities had walls around them for protection against invaders. If the walls were high and strong, the better the chance at defending against attack. In the same way, if the walls were broken down and destroyed, the more open a city was to attack.
The reason why the Jerusalem walls were destroyed in the first place was because Israel messed up big time. Even though they were God's chosen people, Israel continually turned their backs on the Lord by worshiping other idols. Therefore, God allowed them to be attacked and taken over by the Babylonians.
With all this in mind, Nehemiah knew that Israel repeatedly turned their backs on the Lord (1:5-9). Nonetheless, he was deeply upset and distressed over the current state of Jerusalem. So he went before God and prayed for a chance, an opportunity to go before the King and make his petition to rebuild the Jerusalem wall. Then, the King noticed Nehemiah’s distressed state and asked him what he wanted. (2:1-4a). How crazy is that? The King’s reaction and question to Nehemiah had God written all over. Really, how many times do you think a high King would take an interest in a cup-bearer?
Nehemiah had a desire and God provided him an opportunity to go and make an impact. But it wasn't easy. Nehemiah was afraid to speak up to the King when given the chance (2:2). But he did share with the King his heart. He walked through that open door the Lord provided which was the beginning of what ultimately led to Israel returning to Jerusalem from captivity.
Personal Application:
- Is God pressing something on your heart to say or do? What is it?
- What are some of the fears associated with taking that step?
- What is one step you can take to pursue the Lord's guidance?
Ministry Application:
- What are you praying for?
- Is the ministry you have a desire to build aligned up with what you are praying for? Is it aligned up with the Lord's leading?
- What are some of the challenges that may be present that can hinder your desires and prayers?
- What is one step you can take to further pursue the Lord's direction and your desires?
Try to really separate the personal and ministry applications. Too often when we do ministry, the personal and our ministry become intertwined to the point where we cannot tell the difference between the two. Try your hardest to have two separate and distinct answers to these questions.
Encouragement:
If God is pressing something on your heart, go before the Lord and pray for a chance to do something with it. Nehemiah prayed for four months, from the month of Kislev (1:1) to the month of Nisan (2:1) before he was given an opportunity to speak to the King about his desire to return to Jerusalem 1. So do not be discouraged if you do not hear back from the Lord in a day or two or even a few months. Continue to go before the Lord with what he is pressing on your heart.
Then, when God provides you with an opportunity, Carpe Diem - SEIZE THE DAY! God is giving you a chance, now do something with it. Do not let fear or uncertainty of the unknown effect your decision to go for it or not. Seize the day and be thankful to God that he has given you this great opportunity to make an impact.
As followers of Christ and Ministers, we are constantly building. We are building relationships, spiritual foundations for youth and ministries that will be effective for a long time. Each person will have a different ministry depending on what the Lord lays on his or her heart. So don't try to be someone you are not or build a ministry that is not you. Seek the Lord and allow him to direct you so that you can build something that exceeds even your wildest dreams.
If a simple cup-bearer with a heart to do something great can walk through the open door God provided, then we can as well. Let's go and pray for something meaningful for the Lord to do in our midst.
Footnotes:
1. http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/nehemiah/2.html
Possibly Related Posts:
- YM Devo: God’s Protection
- YM Devo: Giving God the Glory
- YM Devo: It Takes Time
- YM Devo: Facing Opposition
- YM Devo: Getting Others Involved
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