When Building A Life For Godનમૂનો

Expect Questioning

So there you are—serving God, loving God, and building your life for Him. You have seen God’s help come in a big way. You have overcome the ridicule of others with courage. You are ignoring the distractions with determination. And then out of nowhere someone questions why you are doing what you are doing! A rumor is spreading that it is for self-glory, self-praise, and self-adoration. You can’t believe it! And yet that is exactly what happened to Nehemiah. 

Notice what they are actually questioning Nehemiah about. First, it is a questioning of his motives—why he is actually rebuilding this wall. Apparently word had spread that he was doing it to become the new king of Israel and in rebellion to the King of Persia, the same king who had allowed him to leave in the first place to build the wall. This questioning of his motives could have been detrimental to Nehemiah and the task he was doing for the Lord. Instead of quitting, Nehemiah responded with truth about the pure motives of his heart. 

Secondly, these accusations were an attack on Nehemiah’s character. Nehemiah had told the King of Persia in chapter 2 that he wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem to protect the land of his ancestors and that he would return as the King’s servant when the task was accomplished. These questions told another story and insinuated that Nehemiah was a liar. I can’t think of anything that can be more demoralizing to a person than a false attack on their personal character. If Nehemiah would have “thrown in the towel” and quit at this part of the story we would all understand why, but he continues on knowing that his heart, along with his motives, were right before the real Judge, God Himself. 

When building a life for God, questions will come. Nehemiah understood that he could not control the questions, but he could be assured of the answers by inspecting his own heart. In Ephesians 6:6, the Bible reveals to all of us who seek to build a life for God the proper motive for doing so: “not….as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” If that is your motive and if that is your true character then EXPECT questioning, but continue to build your life for God knowing that one day the Righteous Judge will answer all questions and accusations on your behalf. 

PRAYER POINT FOR THE DAY: Ask God to help you answer these questions of your character and motives with grace and to have assurance in knowing that He alone is the Righteous Judge.