Nehemiah 11:2 The people commended all who volunteered to live in Jerusalem.

I remember many years ago a teacher who was commenting to the guidance counselor about how easy his job was (compared to the teacher’s.) The counselor joked that if the teacher would go get the proper certification, he too could get ‘on the gravy train!’ Of course the reality was that his job was a job and like any other, it had a lot of ‘every day’ kinds of tasks. It’s easy to see the benefits of another’s situation without seeing the work or the downside of it.

The book of Nehemiah tells the story of Jews who had been in exile in Babylon for 70 years. Now this group has been released to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. When they get there the place is a wreck! (Literally!) They set to work under Nehemiah’s direction and rebuilt the walls. Then they turned their attention further inward and worked on other issues until they got to the temple. This also was rebuilt and they spent time rededicating their lives to God as they dedicated all the work they had done to Him.

There was nothing easy about any of that but it makes for a good story. But after all that they had to live there. That wasn’t so appealing. These people had grown up in Babylon - the most advanced city in the world. Jerusalem didn’t have a lot to offer. They had to cast lots to see who had to live there. But there were some who knew that this was God’s city and that they were part of His plan who volunteered to do it.

There are moments when following God and living for Him is exciting and worthy of an Instagram post. But often, there is an ‘every day’ kind of quality to it. If I expect that saying yes to God will issue forth in one exciting, thrilling adventure after another, I probably will feel like I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere.

Giving my heart to God was the best thing I ever did, but there are times when hard things have to be done. I want to live closely enough to God that in those times, I raise my hand and volunteer to go forward for Him. I know that in doing so, whether the people around me will commend me or not, He will!

Blessings,

Pastor Russ