Today’s Devotion
Topic: Because I fear God!
Text: Nehemiah 5:14-15 (NLT)
14 For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah— from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes — neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. 15 The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way. Amen
Prior to Nehemiah’s reign as governor of Judah, the former governors had laid heavy burdens on the people and were busily extorting from them. The sad thing is, these poor people had had to mortgage their properties and even sell their kids as slaves in order to survive (Nehemiah 5:1-5).
Worst of all, the assistants of the governors took further advantage of the already bad situation and exploited them the more (Nehemiah 5: 15). But Nehemiah acted differently.
The truth is, Nehemiah could have continued to exploit the people because the structures in place had called for that. But, the FEAR OF GOD! That’s the striking contrast. So, for his entire 12 year reign as governor, he chose to be different.
How often have we not taken advantage of the weak structures in places and exploited other people? We retort, “Oh, even the previous boss did it”, so the tradition goes on. At school, home and even in the church, the fear of God has been compromised so much that, almost anything is accepted, under the guise of “grace” or “modernity”. What happened to the fear of God then?
Child of God, because you fear God, choose to be different. The light of Christ in us should shine for all to see. Choose to ignore the ridicule and rather decide to please God. Others may think you “unwise and old-fashioned” by refusing to join in the “looting”, but in fact, you are just being wise, for the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
Christian morals and principles in the bible have no “updated versions”. So, for the fear and reverence that you have for God, it is better to please God and remain “unwise” in the eyes of men. God will surely reward your honesty and diligence in all you do (Hebrews 6:10, 11:6).
Meditate on this word and begin to pray. Always remember, the conclusion of the every matter is to fear God and obey His commands, that is the whole duty of man. Watch and be blessed: https://youtu.be/z35Eu1S18lU
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