June 10 – Back to the Throne Room

We left Nehemiah yesterday, having discovered that his beloved Jerusalem was conquered, destroyed, devastated. The news brought him into abject humility before God, even though his place in the throne room was one of honor and responsibility.

What we want to see today is the response of the king when Nehemiah appeared before him, after his season of prayer. The king said,

"Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart."

Nehemiah wrote: “Then I was very much afraid.” Perhaps it was not a really good idea to bring your “personal problems” before the king of the realm, ruler over empires in the known world.

To comprehend the reality of this moment, we must know that in the verse preceding, Nehemiah tells us that, despite his sojourn in a foreign country, away from all that he loved, a victim of plunder and kidnapping, he “had never before been sad in the king’s presence.”

This earthly king, this monarch who, we know, had nothing that had not been given to him by God, this man of flesh who went the way of all flesh many centuries ago . . . commanded attention and respect. In his . . . glorious presence . . . all were to pay homage to him. His wish was command; his countenance could invoke tremendous hope or abject fear, but his life was but a breath in the annals of the King of Kings, whom Nehemiah served.

We may bring our sadness before the King Whom we serve, but we must never exalt it above His Gladness . . . He has redeemed us! He KNOWS how to work all things together for good for those who love Him. This is His forte’. This is His nature and His purpose. The Word of God tells us that NOTHING thwarts Him, nothing stays His hand. Sadness and loss are not final or irredeemable with Him. How so? We don’t know! We know HIM and His unblemished truthfulness and undiminished power. We lift up our heads in His Presence . . . our redemption draws nigh!