Have you ever had one of those times in your life when you look at the mess that you’re in and ask yourself, “How did I get here?” It’s a somewhat rhetorical question, for we generally know the answer, and if not God will quickly remind us. And then we say, “Oh…. Yeah. I remember.” I’ve had too many of those times to count, I could possibly write a book titled “How I got here…. Again.” I may be the greatest slow learner of all times.
Regardless of our state of decay, God is faithful to hear our cries and bring us back into a state of redemption. The further away we are, the longer it takes to return, but the return begins with the first step we take toward Heaven.
In the book of Nehemiah, he took the first step for his country when in Chapter 1 verse 4 he said “And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven.” How long was certain days? He began praying in the Hebrew month of Kislev, which is November/December; the next scene takes place in the month of Nisan (2:1), when he asks the king for permission to return to Jerusalem. The Hebrew month of Nisan is March/April by our calendar; so Nehemiah had been praying day and night for four months! The further away, the longer it takes….
There is a certain number of days that God has for our return, and it depends on how far out we’ve gone from where God wanted us to be. I don’t believe when we begin the journey that God will give us a countdown, he might… but I doubt it. In faith we’re going to have to begin this journey by acknowledging the distance we’ve gone, the condition we’re in and our seriousness of return. The Hebrews of Judah, the Southern Kingdom, were exiled to Babylon 150 years before Nehemiah’s time. The Hebrews had been in captivity for seventy years when the Persians under King Cyrus overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. The new king established a policy of letting foreigners return home, but upon their return they discovered it wasn’t like they’d left it. The walls were torn down the gates were burned with fire, their city was in ruin and the remnant that had returned were in great affliction. They were far from where God wanted. So Nehemiah prayed for 4 months before even beginning the journey home. That speaks volumes about the power in prayer and the need to hear from God before we begin trying to right a wrong.
Whether we speak of a nation, or a personal decision to get back in a right relationship with God, the journey is the same. It requires dedication, an open and tender heart to God’s guidance and a broken and contrite spirit acknowledging our part in where we are. Let the journey begin…