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August – September 2026: The Book of Nehemiah
On Tuesday 18th August we begin a brand new series of Daily Inspirations – in the Book of Nehemiah. It’s a riveting tale of someone being called by God to do something amazing – and then doing it! Nehemiah is a wonderful character, full of faith, wisdom and practical common sense. Let’s journey with him over the next three weeks or so, and be inspired by his example.
- Day 11, Tuesday 1st September – Nehemiah 6:10-14 ‘Facing opposition (4): fear’
What is the opposite of faith? Most of us would instinctively say ‘doubt’ – but that’s not the biblical answer. In the bible, the opposite of faith is fear. It’s why Jesus prefaces his post-resurrection encounters repeatedly with the words, ‘Do not be afraid.’ It’s why St John tells us that there is no fear in love. Yes, there are healthy fears, which we learn as we grow up for our own protection; but generally, fear is a constricting factor in our adult lives. It is especially damaging to our souls, as well as our wills: a primary motivation of fear rarely leads to good decisions being made.
Bullies know this all too well. Make a person afraid and they will act against their own interests; or rather, they will act in their (and your) perceived short-term interest at the expense of their long-term one. In today’s passage, we see Nehemiah’s opponents make one last throw of the dice. Thus far they have failed with every strategy to stop the work; their final option is to make Nehemiah afraid for his own personal safety. Although it might sound sensible for Nehemiah to hide for a few days or even hours to protect himself, the location is significant: the sanctuary of the temple was a sacred space, and to use it for his own protection would have driven a wedge between himself and the priests. Nehemiah would have lost not only credibility but also moral authority.
Ironically, the threat would have carried more weight if the proposed ‘safe house’ had been anywhere else but the temple; but Shemaiah overplayed his hand, egged on no doubt by Nehemiah’s chief adversaries Tobiah and Sanballat. Nehemiah rightly smelled a rat and called out the skullduggery. He chose faith over fear, and the work continued – indeed as we’ll see tomorrow, it was about to be completed!
Few of us face the kind of threats Nehemiah did; but we all face smaller ones. We all have regular moments which ultimately demand a decision: to choose the path of faith or fear. Such choices become habit-forming. Choosing faith makes it easier to choose faith the next time; and vice versa.
‘Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin,’ St Paul observed. If this sounds overly harsh, the point Paul is making is that our motives matter. Otherwise neutral choices get ‘infected’ if fear or some other negative emotion is our driver. Conversely, to act in good faith often commands a blessing even if we sometimes make what we later consider to be the ‘wrong’ choice. God is gracious and knows our hearts.
Today, may the Lord grant us all grace to choose faith over fear in our decisions and actions, be they big or small; and may choosing faith become our life-giving habit, as we trust in Him. Amen.
- Tuesday 13th January – John 11:38-40 ‘The glory of God’Read more...
‘If you believe, you will see the glory of God.’
It’s quite a promise, isn’t it?
When we talk about glory nowadays, we usually mean some great achievement, or something which merits great praise – this weekend we’ve had talk of FA Cup glory, for example, for the winning teams, especially those who registered shock ...
- Monday 12th January – John 11:28-37 ‘If you had been here…’Read more...
‘If only I’d been there…’ I wonder if you’ve ever found yourself thinking something like that? Sadly, many of us have, usually with a sense of loss at something we missed out on. It can also work the other way round: ‘if only you’d been here,’ someone might say to us – maybe an event we’d have enjoyed, or maybe because ...
- Saturday 10th January – Matthew 2:1-12 ‘They presented him with gifts’Read more...
One last reflection before we put our biblical crib scene away this year! Few characters in the bible grab people’s attention like the Magi. Who were they? Where did they live? What exactly was the star? And those gifts…?
Let’s start by reflecting that the Magi’s gifts of gold, incense and myrrh were all things they used in ...
- Friday 9th January – Matthew 2:9-12 ‘They were overjoyed’Read more...
I wonder what emotions you associate with the Magi? Most likely the first things that come to mind are curiosity, wonder, maybe courage? We might also think about fear – fear of Herod, of the danger they might be putting themselves (and Jesus) into.
One detail we often overlook is that one of the primary emotions the Magi ...
- Thursday 8th January – Matthew 2:1-8 ‘We have come to worship’Read more...
I love the wise men. They’re probably my favourite nativity characters (apart from Jesus, obviously). Why? It’s not just the sense of the exotic or their strange gifts, though that helps: the wise men remind us that the good news of Jesus’ coming into the world is for everyone – God meets all of us where we are, and leads the ...