Patience

Nehemiah 2:1-4 KJV

1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, 3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.

Nehemiah was greatly grieved over the state of his nation-Jerusalem. We saw in Chapter 1 how he fasted and prayed not only for his nation, but for God's guidance in his actions.

Most people would pray for God's help and then move forward, but not Nehemiah; he was patient. It was four months before he went to the king and even then it hadn't been his intent to do so that day.

His despair was so evident that the king asked him what was the matter and then asks what Nehemiah would like to do about it.

Again, instead of bursting forward with the plans I am sure he had made in those four months of waiting, he again paused and prayed.

He wanted to make sure he moved forward with God's plan and not his own. He wanted to make sure he was within God's will and that God's words came out of his mouth and that God would guide him in the king's pleasure.

What a great example of patience! I know that I tend to be hasty (especially when I have spent time planning), but here, Nehemiah showed great humility and restraint.

I pray I can be more like Nehemiah in this aspect.