3. ACCEPT the Burden as Your Own ASSIGNMENT

So far, we’ve talked about how Nehemiah was ALREADY SERVING where he was and how Nehemiah showed interest and concern for other people by ASKING a question.

Once God shows you what your calling is, you still have to take it on. You have to ACCEPT it as your own.

“The burden you bear often reveals the calling you’ll embrace.” (Craig Groeschel)

Knowing that his beloved Jerusalem was without walls weighed heavily upon Nehemiah. Because he carried that burden, God also gave him his assignment (his calling): Rebuild the wall!

Matthew 9:37-38 says, “Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’”

Are you willing to be the answer to the very prayers you’re praying? We can’t meet all the needs, but we can meet the ones the Holy Spirit highlights and gives us the grace to meet.

Once Nehemiah heard how his fellow Israelites were faring back in Jerusalem, his heart was grieved. He could have just said, “Oh, man. That’s tough! Someone should really do something about that.”

But he didn’t.

Instead, he allowed his heart to be broken. His heart was burdened, and he took it on as his own assignment.

I want to encourage you, maybe even challenge you, to ask God to break your heart for what breaks His. When you want what God wants, you’ll have no problem knowing what your assignment is. Watch how God enables and empowers you to partner with Him in what He’s already doing.

It’s when we get our eyes off ourselves and onto those around us that God starts to gift us with our divine assignment.

When Nehemiah ACCEPTED the burden from God, the Scripture tells us he:

• ·sat down,
• ·wept,
• ·mourned for days,
• ·fasted, and
• ·prayed.

When you accept a burden from God, you can’t shake it. It’s always top of mind. You think about it when you wake up, and it’s the last thing on your mind when you go to bed.

What is the burden that you are carrying? Can you see how God is asking you to partner with Him?