Learning From NehemiahSample

Doomed to Repeat?

Ever make the same mistake more than once?

Why? What don’t we learn, or at least remember, that made us vulnerable to the same mistake again?

Many Christians often talk about a particular sin that they struggle with as their “cross to bear” (Matthew 16:24-25). Outside of that not being what that phrase from Jesus actually means (it’s really not!), the idea is that some of us just have a chronic “weakness” or a lack of drive to overcome a particular sin.

Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. And the Christian life is not meant to be one of defeat, but of triumph and transformation. We learn from our mistakes, and through the help and power of the Spirit, we overcome.

In the story of Nehemiah, the Israelites really are attempting to learn from the past, precisely so they do not repeat it.

In chapter 9, we encounter something that we may dismiss too easily as something that belongs to another time, place, and people:

A group confession.

The Israelites who have returned from captivity gather together for a prayer of confession. This prayer rehearses the entire history of their people. Their sins and failures, the consequences that came from them, and what God did to bring them through.

In the middle of this prayer is a rehearsal of God’s Name. The Name that He revealed to Moses about who God is. And this is something for us to embrace.

As we confess our sins, feeling the weight of our wrongdoings, being honest about their depth and extent so that we may receive forgiveness, learn from them, and not repeat them, we must remember to Whom we are confessing.

We confess to the God who is forgiving. He is gracious and compassionate. He is slow to anger and abounding in love.

For all the times we repeat our history, falling into the same sins, let us remember that God forgives. We can become men of confession who learn and grow because we have a God who really is slow to anger and abounding in love.

Prayer: God, You know my sins. Thank You that You forgive and restore. Help me to learn from my past so that in the future I am a man who knows Your heart. Amen.

Reflection: What do you need to confess today? Might it help you not repeat that sin if you were to confess it to another person, as well as to God?