“And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me” (Nehemiah 2:8)

“And because the gracious hand of my God 

was upon me”

 

 

 

 

“And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests” (Nehemiah 2:8).

 

 

 

Do you believe that God is good?  Do you believe that a good God will work together for good despite the difficulties and adversity you are facing? (Rom 8:28)  Are you experiencing the goodness of God even in the situation you are facing? (Ps. 34:8)

 

Last weekend while my father-in-law was in the hospital, my wife called me and told me what she was thinking.  As I listened to her, I couldn't say anything because it was a very difficult situation.  At that time, there were words that God the Holy Spirit reminded me of, so I exhorted my wife, 'Because our God is good, all these things will work together for good, so let's trust in our God'.  Also, I told my wife that right now we do not know how God is fulfilling His good will, but let's acknowledge by faith that all of these situations are being done within God's good will.  In doing so, I told my wife that surely God would allow us to taste God's goodness.  How did this sound to my wife?  If my wife is lacking in faith, surely she will not taste the goodness of God at all while seeing this and that situation with her physical eyes, such as her father suffering from illness and her mother suffering in one way or another.  However, if my wife had stood firm in her faith, she would have agreed with me, even partially experiencing God's good hand in this situation.  And my wife will persevere with her faith, praying and waiting for God's good will to be done.

 

If we look at today's text, Nehemiah 2:8, we will find Nehemiah who received the help of God's gracious hand.  He prayed to God, “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man (King Artaxerxes)” (1:11), and with God’s gracious hand helping him, King Artaxerxes granted Nehemiah's request, and the king was pleased to send Nehemiah to Jerusalem (2:6).  Furthermore, he gave Nehemiah two letters not only to have the governors on the west side of the river allow Nehemiah to pass through to Judah (v. 7), but also to have Asaph, the overseer of the king's forest, clear the gates of the camp belonging to the temple in Jerusalem and beam timber was given for the Jerusalem wall and Nehemiah's house (v. 8).  Having tasted God's goodness in this way, Nehemiah safely arrived in Judah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (v. 11).  Nehemiah, who arrived safely in Jerusalem, had been living in Jerusalem for three days (v. 11), and because God had moved his heart (v. 12), he secretly looked closely at the walls of Jerusalem to rebuild them (vv. 12-16).  Then he later told the people of Judah how God's gracious hand had helped him and what King Artaxerxes had told him (v. 18).  When he did that, the people of Judah said, “Let us start rebuilding,” and all tried to do this good work with all their strength (v. 18).  The people of Judah, who were trying to do good things like this, had people who were doing evil things, opposing the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem (vv. 10, 19).  They despised Nehemiah and the men of Judah and also laughed at them (v. 19).  However, Nehemiah was confident that the God of heaven would make him and the people of Judah prosper (v. 20).  And according to his conviction, God helped Nehemiah and made Nehemiah succeed in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (6:16).  In the end, God's good hand helped Nehemiah, and God made him prosper.

 

When God's good hand helps us, we can prosper.  Even if the adversaries arise and despise and ridicule us, if God's good hand is with us, we can do God's good work.  Because God is good, He is the God who causes all things to work together for good.  In the end, the good God helps us with His good hands to achieve His good will, so that we can prosper.  I hope and pray that you and I can taste this goodness of God.