DEVOTIONAL went out at the Gate in the

Nehemiah was an honorable man who was born and brought up in Babylonian captivity. He was so trusted by the king of Persia, he became his cupbearer. One day while he was in Susa he heard the walls of Jerusalem were in ruin and the people were in great distress. He began to weep and mourn before The Lord, seeking His help. He knew he needed to speak to the king, but he could not just enter in into his presence without being summoned. So he sought The Lord through fasting and prayer. Around four months later, after constant prayer, the Lord opened the door for Nehemiah to address the king. The king summoned him into his presence. Immediately the king noticed his face was downcast and very sad. The king asked him, “Why is your face sad, though you are not sick?” Then Nehemiah replied with fear, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” The Lord moved upon the heart of the king and he granted Nehemiah permission to travel back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.

So Nehemiah, along with a group of exiles, begin the journey back to Jerusalem. This exhausting journey, traveling through a destitute land, was over 900 miles and would take up to 4 months. The Lord was with Nehemiah and made his journey successful. 3 days later, after arriving in Jerusalem and getting settled in, he arose in the night taking only a few trustworthy men, and went out into the city to seek the will of The Lord. Nehemiah tells us, “So I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire.” Nehemiah did not just weep and pray, he went out and inspected all that needed to be done. With the strength of the Lord he put his mind and his hands to accomplish the task that the Lord had laid upon his heart. Through resilience and perseverance, by the hand of the Lord, Nehemiah accomplished all that God had given him to do.

In today’s culture we are moving farther and farther away from the absolute truth of God’s holy Word. The moral compass that God has instilled and written upon the hearts of each individual is slowly disintegrating into an abyss of perversion that may not be recovered. It is true that apart from regeneration from the Holy Spirit that man is an enemy of God, but it is also true that sin is progressive in it’s nature and it will continually grow worse as time moves forward. That is why the children of God must be awakened from their stupor. Sexual immorality is polluting the minds of every individual, gender identity is destroying the minds of our youth, homosexuality is replacing God’s design for the home, abortion is legalized murder, pornography can be accessed with one touch of the finger, and sin is glorified on all social websites.

The church’s tolerance upon these issues has opened a chasm of devastation within our own society. Our children and grandchildren will suffer from our indolent state of neglect concerning the issues of morality. Even those who are a vital part of the church, because of the lack of knowledge of God’s word, have fallen into despondency. May the eyes of our hearts be opened like Nehemiah, that we will wake up from our slumber and examine the brokenness all around us. May we be moved to cry out to Him through fasting, prayer, and continual repentance night and day. Just maybe, God will have mercy upon us and cause a great awakening as in the days of Jonathan Edwards.

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