100 Days with Jesus: Instruction on How to Balance Spirituality with Action

Day 26


As a business owner and manager, I have found the book of Nehemiah to be one of the most powerful and awesome books of instruction for handling many situations in business and in life. Nehemiah had an awesome love of God and he also loved his remnant of people that were left back in Jerusalem and wanted to help them rebuild the city. It’s a wonderful book of instruction on how to balance spirituality with action. After 20 years of business, I still find this to be one of my biggest challenges.

As I am in the midst of a transition in my business, I feel led to this book for help and guidance. Life changes things constantly. You can’t remain static. You are either consciously moving forward or you’re going backward. It reminds me of my treadmill. If I don’t keep walking, I will slide right back to the end and off the track. You’ve got to keep moving and working. I have found this to be the case whether I’m referring to business or my personal life. Businesses must continually be evolving and relationships continually need attention. When Nehemiah was told about the sad condition of the people and his beloved city, he wept and prayed for days. But when he prayed, he prayed for God to give him guidance on how he could help his people. He didn’t just pray that God would fix it all for him. He knew he had to take action. But he didn’t want to take just any action, going off on some misguided rant. This isn’t the way God works. Nehemiah positioned himself to do something, like a runner at the starting line, waiting on the shot into the air to begin the race. His prayer in Nehemiah 1:11 ‘……Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” Nehemiah knew where his success would come from and it wasn’t from his own independent action, it was from God. So many times I make quick decisions and later wish I had first turned to the Lord for instruction. His plans are always perfect until I get into them with my own ideas and make a mess. I believe I will follow the Lord’s instruction through Nehemiah for a while and see where it takes me.