Today's Bible Reading: EZRA 9:1-10:44; NEHEMIAH 1:1-2:20
Nehemiah 1:11 For I was the king’s cupbearer
We often wonder how God could use us. Most of us are nobodies from nowhere. We don’t have any great skills or talents that would distinguish us from others or designate us as great leaders. There is nothing special or significant about our life. We are regular people living out our routine life. We are just normal. But throughout scripture we find God using the nobodies from nowhere to make His name known.
Nehemiah was like most of us. He was normal. There was nothing distinguishing or distinct about Him. He was just a guy born in captivity who faithfully carried out his job as the king’s cupbearer. He was not from a leading family or heritage. As a matter of fact he is only mention in this book of the Bible and not quoted anywhere in the New Testament. His family most likely was from in or around Jerusalem because part of his family was buried there. (Neh. 2:3) He was possibly from the tribe of Judah (Jerusalem). He was raised a Hebrew, but there is nothing about his background that would suggest that he would be a great dynamic spiritual leader.
He was a Jew in a Medo-Persian society. The city he lived in was a stronghold city and the capital of the empire. It was occupied by many officials. He did not want to be there, but he learned how to live a life pleasing to God in the midst of the secular world where God had placed him to live and work. Although he had never seen Jerusalem, he had heard stories about the glory days of the temple and how everything in the city had been utterly destroyed by the Babylonians. Like others in captivity, he longed for a day to be free and go to his ancestral homeland. He was brought to tears by the report that the walls of Jerusalem were “broken down” and its gates were “burned with fire” (Neh 1:3). But what could he do? He was nobody special.
Nehemiah was not a minister or a missionary, but he could pray. So He did. And God answered him. God had placed Nehemiah in the position of cupbearer. He was to oversee the king’s wine. He was tasked with tasting the King’s wine to insure it wasn’t poisoned. Because of his position he was always with the King. The king trusted him, confided in him and owed him his life. This unique position of authority and trust opened the opportunity to be used by God. He was available to allow God to use him for His glory and He did eventually sending him to Jerusalem to lead the people to rebuild its city walls. This nobody became somebody that God used.
Don’t discount who you are or the task that God has given you to do. Like Nehemiah, faithfully serve the Lord where he has positioned you and make yourself available to serve Him in whatever opportunities He places before you. You may feel like a nobody from nowhere, but you are someone significant to the Lord.
Today rejoice where God has placed you. Thank Him for positioning you there. Ask Him to help you see opportunities that arise for you to serve Him. Praise Him that even though you may not want to be there, you are exactly where He wants you to be. Thank the Lord that even though you may seem to be nobody special, you are somebody significant to Him.
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