Embrace the Race: Persevering Through Challenging TimesSample

Commitment

When I started out doing ministry full time, I was not guaranteed a salary. Our church could only commit to half of what was needed to support my family. My wife and I drafted a budget and put a circle around our income, highlighting what we needed to focus our time on the ministry. We prayerfully committed that number to the Lord, telling no one but believing God would provide. 

Within three days, one individual took me out for coffee and shared that God had spoken to them to support our family with a certain amount of money for the following year. When we added this amount to what we already had, it came to the exact amount we had told the Lord we needed. This individual was true to their word, and their faithful support throughout that year enabled us to focus our time to help grow and build the church in that season of ministry. 

In the same way, Nehemiah needed the commitment of the people to complete the work God had called them as a community to do. We will see in our reading today several promises the people of Israel made to support the work of the Lord. They committed to following the Sabbath, forgiving debts, and bringing offerings to the temple. They assumed the responsibility not to neglect the house of the Lord. 

To neglect something means to fail to care for something properly. The Israelites, for the longest time, had overlooked their commitment to honor the Lord. On this day, they were making a new commitment to take care of things that glorify God.

Daily Challenge

What about your life? Are there areas in your spiritual life that are not being cared for properly? Commit today to welcome the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and ask God to help you to prioritize your spiritual growth.