March 10th, 2018

Proclaiming Who God Is

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands…”  Neh. 1:5

Nehemiah, whose name means “The Lord comforts,” was the cupbearer to the king of Persia.  In chapter 1, Nehemiah is informed by other Jewish survivors of the exile about the condition of his beloved Jerusalem.  The report given to Nehemiah states in 1:3 that “those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” 

For Nehemiah, what was broken in his life was Jerusalem, the capital city of Judah.  The city had been destroyed and laid in rubbles, causing Nehemiah to weep, mourn, fast and pray.  In 1:5 he begins to pray. Notice the way he opens the prayer: “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands…”  Nehemiah begins by proclaiming who God is for him:

·         The Lord is God;
·         He is the God of heaven;
·         God is great and awesome; and
·         God keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and obey His commands.

There is power in proclaiming who God is for us in a time of need!  As situations happen in our lives, God is ready to be known in a specific way; to reveal Himself and announce Himself and demonstrate Himself in that specific way. 

This gives us an idea of who God can be in our lives.  We can apply this in our lives by looking at what the Lord wants to rebuild in our lives and asking Him who He wants to be for us in this season of our lives.  Once we understand that, we can proclaim it!