Day 31, March 28, 2007
Nehemiah 13:10-22
Successful building projects have a history of danger associated with them, and it usually creeps in on the far side of the project. What’s more, the danger that creeps in has to do with the sense of completion. Somehow, the wall being built, the celebrations being finished, the recovery of the law being done, there’s a sense of something like this: “Great – we’re done with that. Now we can get on with our lives.” But getting on is actually code for ‘slipping back into our old ways of living’ which in this particular chapter means slipping back into two clear ways of not trusting God:
1. The people have stopped supporting the priesthood through their offerings. A building project? Wow. That’s exciting! I can get behind that. And what happens sometimes is that our attention can be diverted away from the ongoing operational needs and expenses of ministry, as we channel our dollars to other ‘more exciting projects.’ After all, would you rather give to support freeing sex slaves in Africa or to buy toilet paper for fellow church members in Seattle, along with carpet cleaning, and salaries for your staff. When Nehemiah gets wind of this he turns the people toward a recovery of their tithes so that the work of God can continue. But tithing is just another word for trusting – that by giving to God the first part of my income – He will both provide for me, and order my life financially according to the ‘enough’ and the ‘plentiful’ that is His will. Do I trust Him to do that?
2. Others have demonstrated a loss in trusting God by working 7 days a week – fearful that if they don’t continue to produce, there won’t be enough. This is a big deal too. Do I have the faith to believe that, if I rest, God will take care of everything? Will He take care of me? Will He take of the work He’s entrusted to me? Am I able to really rest? To cease?
We often learn these important truths during times of special sacrifice and focused community attention towards the fulfillment of a goal, but then the lessons are quickly lost once the goal has been achieved. Fortunately, we can’t afford that luxury here at Bethany, for God has ordered this project in such a way that we will need, collectively, to remain utterly dependent on Him, prayerful and obedience in our giving, and whole-hearted in our commitments to God and each other, long after we open the doors to a new facility.
O Lord of all times, enable us to live with bold dependency and prayerful obedience, not just when things are focused, and goals visible, as they are today, but when things are less exciting, goals less tangible. Make us faithful in small things and ways as in large, that we might honor you with all the days of our lives, both the easy and hard ones. In Your Name we pray, Amen
posted by Richard Dahlstrom @ 10:51 AM
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