Daily Devotions

Nehemiah is part of a bigger story in which three different people lead those in exile back to Jerusalem. Three different leaders, for three different reasons that all run parallel and remind us the hope that God gave them through his prophecy. All three of these leaders were called to mobilize people. All three of these leaders ran into opposition and all three persevered.

Nehemiah specifically feels called out of his position in the Persian government to go help rebuild the city walls of Jerusalem. Without those walls, the city is vulnerable. Nehemiah is known as a “man who prays” and reminds us that following God faithfully requires that we start there. When he feels the call to leave his position in Persia, he prays. When he needs to mobilize the people, he prays. When he faces opposition, he prays, and ultimately what allows him to persevere through it all is prayer. You see even though he is called to this, he needs to continually ask God to provide the clarity needed so that he does not get in the way of what God is doing in and through him.

It reminds me of so many of our mission partners and for me specifically 17 years ago when I began my position at Hope as the Care Director. I felt a pretty strong nudge early on that we should look at bringing the Celebrate Recovery Ministry to Hope. This required me to fly by myself to Saddleback Church to get trained and better understand the ministry. I was scared to death to fly and had never traveled alone. I also had zero experience in recovery. I left what was comfortable at that time to follow God’s lead. When I returned I had to mobilize a team of people that had recovery background and could commit to a ministry that met 52 weeks a year. Anytime you try something new or different that people don’t understand you naturally come up against opposition, so that was absolutely part of my story too. Just like Nehemiah, from beginning to end, I prayed. I prayed for guidance, for strength and for perseverance.  This year we celebrated 15 years of Celebrate Recovery where God has transformed hundreds of lives.