They tell you to sit down before they speak. When Nehemiah heard the remnant lived in affliction and reproach, the wall of Jerusalem broken down and the gates burned with fire, the strength of his legs gave out. He wept, mourned many days, fasted, and prayed—knocked down by the news, God’s work still before him. Nehemiah 1 presses a question every overwhelmed heart knows: what do you do when the need is undeniable and your strength is gone?
Sometimes our attempts to fix our situations we need rescue from go as badly as poorly planned April Fool’s jokes.
We pray the Lord’s Prayer anticipating God’s work, but a lot of times His glory and power feels quite distant. Is that the bad news that cancels out the good news that He cares?