In the past few weeks, we have looked at Nehemiah, his current position as a Jew serving in the
court of the Persian king Artaxerxes, and how the Lord moved Nehemiah to request of the king a
leave of absence from his post to rebuild the desolate city of Jerusalem. God used this obstacle –
a broken down city largely neglected for the past 150 years – to become a burden for Nehemiah.
Although he had never been there, Nehemiah had heard about Jerusalem from his fellow Jews.
Moved to great emotional turmoil, he just couldn’t shake the sadness in thinking of the great
center of Jewish worship lying in such disarray.
Nehemiah sees the obstacle that the broken down city presents to the resettlement of Jerusalem.
Then he senses the critical nature of the situation and pours his heart out to God about it.
Remember his prayer to Jehovah God….
Then I said, “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of
unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, listen to my prayer! Look down
and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against
you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! We have sinned terribly by not obeying the
commands, laws, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.
Nehemiah 1:5–7 (NLT)
Somewhere in between feeling the pressure of an almost impossible situation in Jerusalem, and
taking responsibility for his peoples’ sins, Nehemiah realizes that this burden won’t go away. It
becomes a passion—almost an obsession. Finally, he is captured by the sense that he can, and is
called to, DO SOMETHING about the situation. And so he decides to do just that.
O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you.
Please grant me success now as I go to ask the king for a great favor. Put it into his heart to be
kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer. Nehemiah 1:11 (NLT)
So he approached his boss about the project, and the king authorized Nehemiah to go to
Jerusalem and to oversee the rebuild. Real passion will almost always drive one to simply be
willing to DO SOMETHING about the obstacle.
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When God gives you an obstacle, and it becomes a burden, and then a passion, GOD WILL USE
THIS PASSION TO MOVE YOU BEYOND SEEING PROBLEMS AS OBSTACLES AND TO
BEGIN SEEING THEM AS OPPORTUNITIES. A glass filled halfway with water provides the
standard illustration. Let’s take an imaginary glass of water which is exactly half full. This also
makes the glass half empty. Different people will see the glass from each of these unique
perspectives. Some will see the glass as half full, while others will see it as half empty.
There are first the Pessimists. They may not think that anything can be done to make the situation
any better. They see the situation as a glass HALF-EMPTY. They may see the situation with a
primary focus on the obstacles that define the situation – that have made it problematic in the
first place.
Another may look at the same situation, and see it as a glass that is HALF-FULL. This person
may see the situation in a more positive light, as something that can be enhanced, or made better.
This is the view of the Optimist. Where the pessimist is primarily focused on the obstacles of the
situation, the optimist primarily sees the OPPORTUNITIES in the situation. Because they see
opportunities, they see more of the possibility for success in the situation –that it can be made
better. They are more likely to get involved and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
Back to Nehemiah – WHAT HE INITIALLY SAW AS AN OBSTACLE NOW BECOMES AN
OPPORTUNITY, through the transition from a burden to a passion. He is willing to put on the
line a career that he has worked hard to cultivate. Sometime after hearing from his friends about
the destruction in Jerusalem, and the problems it posed to the resettlement of the area, Nehemiah
internalized the situation, and took ownership. The result—something needed to be done, and
Nehemiah is compelled to do it.
What about you? Is there a God-sized project in your life that you are passionate about – but you
just haven’t begun to see the Kingdom-enhancing opportunity in the situation? What is this
situation? Has God presented you with a Kingdom-advancing opportunity, but you’re still
focusing on the obstacles, and this is keeping you from moving forward? What is THIS situation
all about? Are you missing out on heavenly rewards by not jumping in the DO SOMETHING
ABOUT IT?
God allows us to have obstacles in life. Sometimes He even ordains the obstacles. He wants to
lead you and I in seeing that obstacle as an opportunity – an opportunity us to take hold off!
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