You Were Right
I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear him, making my husband repeat the phrase, ‘you were right,’ a number of times.
Reference: v.16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. (TNIV Bible)
Explore: I hate to be proven wrong, but it does happen… occasionally! But, let’s face it, most of us do hate it. I will always joke around with my husband when he is wrong and when he’s man enough to say, “You were right.” I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear him and say a few times, “Sorry?… Excuse me?… What did you say?” That way my husband has to repeat the phrase ‘you were right’ over and over again! It just rubs it in that little bit more. It may sound harsh, but I’m not right all that often, so I have to make the most of it when it does happen!
Application: Nehemiah’s enemies did not believe that he could coordinate the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall. They didn’t like what he was doing, and so sent in a few disruptions, but they didn’t seem too convinced that the huge task would be complete. It seems that they had forgotten the God factor. When He gets involved in our plans, then a great deal of unrealistic things can happen – people can be healed, addictions can be broken, forgiveness can be shared, and walls can be built. When the people realised that the unthinkable had happened, they were humiliated, but also frightened by the power that was behind these people. God was right and they were wrong. Sure, the people had worked hard, but God had also been on their side. If they could achieve this great task, then what (or who) else could they conquer? There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but when we have the power of God behind us, then great and unbelievable things can happen. Let’s not limit ourselves to the natural when we have the power of the Supernatural behind us.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we limit ourselves to our own power and don’t rely on your strength. Amen.
What are you needing God’s power for in your life?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.