Sunday sermon: "When God Calls, God Provides"

Often when we seek the Lord's direction for our ministry or service, we seem to hit a wall. Perhaps God isn't answering our prayers the way we expect, or maybe an opportunity hasn't arisen to move ahead. IF you are like me, you may become impatient and plead for God to just get moving. Frustration may set in, and we wonder if we've misunderstood what we are supposed to do.

Yet God is never silent without reason. We see in Nehemiah 2 that Nehemiah did not have an opportunity to speak to the king about his desire to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem for almost four months. I'm sure he kept praying, but to a man as active and gifted as Nehemiah that four months may have felt like an eternity.

Nehemiah understood, though, that God works in His own time. The Lord did not decide that Jerusalem should remain in ruins, or change His mind about Nehemiah leading the project. It simply wasn't yet the time for the work to begin. We are not given a reason in the Bible why this was so. All we know is that Nehemiah exercised patience until the Lord opened the door for him.

When his opportunity came, Nehemiah did not hesitate. He prayed (his natural first response), then made his request to the king. It was carefully worded to avoid alarming the king, but it was also bold, asking for exactly what Nehemiah needed. When every element was in place, God gave him the opening to make his request.

The king responded favorably. Nehemiah was a trusted servant, so the king wanted to know how long he would be gone. He also agreed to provide the timbers needed for the work. In addition, Artaxerxes provided an armed guard for his cupbearer, something for which Nehemiah had not asked. The situation turned out to be as favorable as Nehemiah could expect.

As we seek our place of service, and seek the Lord's guidance for our ministry, we need to exhibit the same confidence and patience Nehemiah had. At the same time, we must be ready to move forward when the time is right and God opens the doors for us. When we trust the Lord and are willing to serve Him, He will provide what we need to successfully minister for Him.