Nehemiah 1:2-4

When Hanani one of my brethren came with men from Judah; I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who had survived the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.” So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
Nehemiah 1:2-4

Nehemiah is such a good example to us of how and where God calls us to serve Him. Though born in captivity hundreds of miles away from Jerusalem, a city he’d never seen, Nehemiah’s heart broke for God’s people and the conditions in which they were living. The news from there could not have been worse. The walls of Jerusalem, its protection, had been down since the siege by the Babylonians began in 606 BC. Now it was 445 BC, a full 161 years later, and the people who had returned to repatriate Jerusalem and rebuild the temple back in 536 BC still had not been able to build its walls.

Notice that God will often direct us by what is breaking our hearts. Nehemiah lived in another country and among a people who had settled into life in Babylon. He was one of only a few who cared at all about God’s city and God’s people there. It hurt his heart, drove him to his knees, and eventually, by God’s grace, brought him to the city with solutions in hand that God had provided. Want to know what God’s calling is for you? Start by looking at what “breaks your heart.” Often, that is exactly where God is directing you. Go back and read Nehemiah’s story. It may be just what you need to see as God is preparing you for a great work!

Praying God breaks my heart for what breaks His,

Pastor Jack Abeelen