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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.
- Wednesday 7th January – John 11:17-27 ‘The resurrection and the life’Read more...
Whenever I read today’s passage, I have this sense of walking on holy ground. It’s such a well-known encounter – Jesus and his friend Martha, a shared grief, a conversation about life and death – and yet always somehow ‘other’: holy, mysterious, awesome. A passage to make you take off your shoes and kneel in wonder.
At the ...
- Tuesday 6th January – John 11:5-16 ‘This world’s light’Read more...
In any survey of the greatest barriers to faith, the question of suffering always comes at the top of the list. Ahead of science, of biblical reliability, of judgement, of doubt – all the other thorny issues which cause people to wonder. And the reason for this is ultimately personal: when people struggle with suffering, it’s not an abstract question. ‘Why does God allow suffering?’ nearly always means, ‘Why did God allow me/my ...
- Monday 5th January – John 11:1-5 ‘The one Jesus loves’Read more...
I wonder what you feel about T-shirts with messages? It’s very much a ‘marmite’ thing: some people love them, others loathe them. I’m old enough to remember the phase many years ago when it was common to get back to school after the summer holidays and see a number of people walking around with following emblazoned on their front: ‘My friend went to and all (s)he brought me back was ...