Impact and InfluenceEsimerkki

What Makes You Weep?

To give the context for the focus scripture, here is a quick introduction. Nehemiah’s brother and a few other men come to tell him that Jerusalem is in a state of distress and that the wall had been broken down and its gates burned with fire.

In response to this news, Nehemiah sits down and begins to weep. In addition to grieving for Jerusalem, Nehemiah also fasted and prayed. Before consulting the King about the matter, he went to God first. His ultimate purpose for seeking God was to receive next steps for the work that needed to be done.

There are 2 important things to extract from this story:

• What makes us weep reveals the work our hands are called to do.

• The instructions for how to do that work, and to do it well, can only come from intentionally consulting God.

Pause for a moment and think about what has made you weep lately? What keeps you up at night? What are the dreams, visions, and ideas that you can’t escape no matter how much you try? What do you feel a heavy burden for? The answers to these questions will lead you to the discovery of what you should be doing and where you should be making an impact this new year.

Today’s challenge is to take note of your answers and note of those things and process them through prayer and fasting.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I have never been more ready to discover the work that you have for my hands. Give me a burden for the things you would have me do in this new year. In Jesus’ name. Amen.