The Upper Room Daily Devotional of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "The Trust Factor" for Sunday, 24 April 2016 with Scripture: Nehemiah 1:1-11

The Upper Room Daily Devotional of Nashville, Tennessee, United States "The Trust Factor" for Sunday, 24 April 2016 with Scripture: Nehemiah 1: 1-2 The memoirs of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah.
It was the month of Kislev in the twentieth year. At the time I was in the palace complex at Susa. Hanani, one of my brothers, had just arrived from Judah with some fellow Jews. I asked them about the conditions among the Jews there who had survived the exile, and about Jerusalem.
3 They told me, “The exile survivors who are left there in the province are in bad shape. Conditions are appalling. The wall of Jerusalem is still rubble; the city gates are still cinders.”
4 When I heard this, I sat down and wept. I mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God-of-Heaven.
5-6 I said, “God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I’m praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I’m including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.
7-9 “We’ve treated you like dirt: We haven’t done what you told us, haven’t followed your commands, and haven’t respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant Moses: ‘If you betray me, I’ll scatter you to the four winds, but if you come back to me and do what I tell you, I’ll gather up all these scattered peoples from wherever they ended up and put them back in the place I chose to mark with my Name.’
10-11 “Well, there they are—your servants, your people whom you so powerfully and impressively redeemed. O Master, listen to me, listen to your servant’s prayer—and yes, to all your servants who delight in honoring you—and make me successful today so that I get what I want from the king.”
I was cupbearer to the king.
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Nehemiah prayed, “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name."[Nehemiah 1:11 (NIV)]
For years my commute to work took me under and over several interstate highway bridges. Sometimes, looking up at a bridge I was passing under, I would see half a dozen semitrucks, waiting there for the light to change. At other times, I would be driving over water on a bridge that I trusted to be strong enough for the weight of my car and all those around me.
One day I found myself thinking,
Wow! Every day I trust these structures of concrete and steel rebar to do their job. But do I trust God that much? What if I were to trust God more with my life and family?
In the Old Testament, Nehemiah is recorded as crying out to God to help him and his fellow conquered Israelites. They were all slaves, and their plight seemed hopeless. But Nehemiah persisted in talking to God. Again and again he acknowledged that the situation was far greater than he could handle and then asked God for help.
From scripture, we know how much God cares about our circumstances and is willing and able to help us. Even though a situation may seem hopeless — a prodigal adult child, an incurable illness, or a fear that doesn’t seem to leave us alone — we can pray, confident that God hears us.
The Author: Pamela Gilsenan (Colorado, USA)
Thought for the Day: God cares about me even more than I can imagine.
Prayer: Dear God, whether we are facing a small crisis or a seemingly impossible task, remind us that you hear our prayers and answer them. Amen.
Prayer focus: Bridge builders---------------------