A burdened heart

On Monday, we laid a foundation for our study in Nehemiah. As cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah had an important role in the court - but he might not have thought much about his being a leader of his people. That was soon to change . . . his brother Hanani brought news of the exiles in Jerusalem, and the deplorable conditions of both the city walls and the people's reputation among the pagans.
It was an eye-opener for Nehemiah.
He went on to be greatly used of God.
Are we people that God can use for His kingdom?
In order for God to use us, we must be receptive to the Holy Spirit -- we must see the needs around us and be burdened to help others. That's a tall order, no?

Grab a cup of java and let's talk, OK? Just woman to woman here.
Ready?
When God wants to use us, one of the first things He does is to burden our heart with a situation.

Nehemiah had known in general about the goings on in Jerusalem. He knew the history. He knew the walls had been demolished. But when he heard about the specifics of it, he couldn't put it out of his mind. We can be the same way. We can know in general about a problem, but then we hear something that really brings it home to us. Or we see the situation first-hand.
When we look at the first two chapters of Nehemiah, the scholars tell us there is a four month break in between 1:1 and 2:1. So he didn't hear about the problem and rush immediately to talk to the king. He waited those four months in prayer, until God must have given him peace about making his request. I expect that other Jewish people in the bustling city of Susa had heard about the conditions in Jerusalem. Perhaps they shook their heads and clucked their tongues in dismay. Perhaps they said, "Oh, that's too bad. Sorry to hear that." Then they got back to their work and their lives.
They were not burdened for the needs of God's people in Jerusalem.
But the man that God used to do something about it didn't just HEAR about the need. He FELT the need. He mourned and wept. He prayed and fasted and prayed some more about what he'd heard. Nehemiah couldn't get it out of his mind, and God used that burden as the basis for action.

Do we feel the Spirit's nudge in our lives when we hear of people's needs?
Do we shake our heads and say, "Oh, that's too bad."
Or perhaps we do feel strongly about it, but our response is," There are so many needs! I can't possibly help on all of these problems!"
Or, "How do I discern which need God wants me to help with?"

First, we can't let the immensity of a situation (or the sheer number of needs) paralyze us. Then nothing happens! I know, sometimes we hear about the overwhelming needs around the world, and we want to run for cover! There's just no way we can respond to them all.
Sometimes we even throw up barricades around our hearts just to survive emotionally. Then no needs or situations move us to action. We end up engrossed in our own lives and ignore the needs of other people.
Jesus' eyes were on the needs of the people:

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:36-38, NIV)

Perhaps our prayers should have three parts: first, we can ask God to give us the eyes of Jesus to see the needs of the people around us. Secondly, we can ask God to give us the heart of Jesus to feel compassion. And then we can pray for Him to raise up workers to meet those overwhelming needs, knowing that He may use us to be a part of the solution!

Another thing to guard against is our human tendency to commit to things impetuously.  The needs are simply endless. We can't respond to all of them. No one could. So how do we know what to do?

We wait on God, as Nehemiah did, and pray. Ask Him to show us a particular need that we can do something about. Ask Him to make use of our hands, our feet, our speech . . .

Let us learn this lesson from Nehemiah: you never lighten the load unless first you have felt the pressure in your own soul. You are never used of God to bring blessing until God has opened your eyes and made you see things as they are. (Alan Redpath)

Let's pray that God will give us the heart of Christ; that we will feel the burden of people who are hurting, and feel compassion for them. Then let's pray for strength and willingness to get involved where we can offer help.
More on this tomorrow!