Unlikely Servants in Unlikely Places: The Story of Nehemiah
Nehemiah 1:11c
…For I was the king’s cupbearer. 12:1a …in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king…wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king… 12:2a …the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick?...
Earlier in this volume, we wrote about unlikely prophets in unlikely places. This one is certainly no exception. To be honest, the very fact that Nehemiah even has a job serving wine to anyone at all, much less a king, would get him kicked off of some people’s list of qualifications for a proper prophet. Some might even dare say that “God would never use someone in such an ungodly place!” And yet, God has Nehemiah positioned to gain audience with the king through none other position than, you guessed it, serving up wine to him! You see, God sees the BIG picture. So, while Nehemiah was working a job that might have got him kicked out of the local preacher’s fellowship, he was in fact following God’s voice and lead all along. For you see, God needed to use this king to support and finance the effort of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and so He used whatever means He saw fit in order to give Nehemiah the opportunity to represent His cause to the king. As it turns out, Nehemiah didn’t even approach the king concerning the matter; contrarily, the king just so happened to notice that Nehemiah looked particularly sad that day, and he was simply curious as to why. That began the whole entire providential conversation, which led to Nehemiah leading God’s people into rebuilding the walls! Imagine that! Just being in the right place at the right time for The Lord yields His providential hand to work out details you could not have planned any better yourself!
Even right now, someone may be reading this who may be wondering what possible good could come out of the place you find yourself either working, living, or serving The Lord. You thought He led you there, but now that you’re there, you can’t seem to make any sense of it. But no worries, for if God put you there, rest assured that when the time is right, you’ll have another providential moment that will begin unfolding the next step in your journey of accomplishing God’s will for your life. The key is to always be obedient to God, and NEVER doubt His power in any place!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
…For I was the king’s cupbearer. 12:1a …in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king…wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king… 12:2a …the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick?...
Earlier in this volume, we wrote about unlikely prophets in unlikely places. This one is certainly no exception. To be honest, the very fact that Nehemiah even has a job serving wine to anyone at all, much less a king, would get him kicked off of some people’s list of qualifications for a proper prophet. Some might even dare say that “God would never use someone in such an ungodly place!” And yet, God has Nehemiah positioned to gain audience with the king through none other position than, you guessed it, serving up wine to him! You see, God sees the BIG picture. So, while Nehemiah was working a job that might have got him kicked out of the local preacher’s fellowship, he was in fact following God’s voice and lead all along. For you see, God needed to use this king to support and finance the effort of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and so He used whatever means He saw fit in order to give Nehemiah the opportunity to represent His cause to the king. As it turns out, Nehemiah didn’t even approach the king concerning the matter; contrarily, the king just so happened to notice that Nehemiah looked particularly sad that day, and he was simply curious as to why. That began the whole entire providential conversation, which led to Nehemiah leading God’s people into rebuilding the walls! Imagine that! Just being in the right place at the right time for The Lord yields His providential hand to work out details you could not have planned any better yourself!
Even right now, someone may be reading this who may be wondering what possible good could come out of the place you find yourself either working, living, or serving The Lord. You thought He led you there, but now that you’re there, you can’t seem to make any sense of it. But no worries, for if God put you there, rest assured that when the time is right, you’ll have another providential moment that will begin unfolding the next step in your journey of accomplishing God’s will for your life. The key is to always be obedient to God, and NEVER doubt His power in any place!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill