Strengthen My Hands

Is there something going on with you that has caused you to feel weak?  Has your boss at work or your pastor at church asked you to do something that has presented considerable challenge to you?  Do you feel that you are literally stuck between a rock and a hard place?  Are you feeling that a particular situation is like six in one hand, a half dozen in the other?  Has God given you what seems like the impossible dream?  Does the mountain in your life seem too high to climb? Is there a giant standing in your way?  If you answered YES to one or more of these questions, God has a Word for you.  Open your eyes, look to see what the Lord is saying to you. Now, read on.  

 Nehemiah's story is told in the book that bears his name.  He described himself as the cupbearer to the king of Persia who resided in Susa.  The Lord placed on Nehemiah's heart a burning desire to join the returning exiles in Judah and Jerusalem, and to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem.  He was passionate and determined to restore the gates that had been burned 70 years earlier when Judah was taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  Nehemiah was granted favor by the king who not only granted him a leave of absence to go to Judah, but gave him considerable timber, building supplies, and other resources.  Upon his arrival in Jerusalem, he found a people with a mind and heart to do this work.  And he also found enemies who did everything in their power to keep the walls from being rebuilt and the gates from being restored.  Some of the enemies that came against the people were outsiders.  But, guess what?  Some of the enemies were insiders, their friends and neighbors.

 So, no matter where you are, irregardless of what's going on, pray continually as Nehemiah did.  I describe one of his prayers as short and sweet, quick and to the point.  Nehemiah simply prayed "O God, strengthen my hands."  Let that become your prayer, "O God, strengthen my hands" (see Nehemiah 6:9).  Then watch God move “exceedingly abundantly above all you could ask or imagine according to the power at work in you” (see Ephesians 3:20-21).