Promises

     The Wellspring Revival Ministry Program Directors are looking at Nehemiah together.  I wrote last week about the opening of the book; the parallels between the people of Jerusalem who had no wall to defend them and the at-risk youth who fall through the cracks of our social systems.  I continue to be struck by how relevant this study feels for where we are at right now.
     After learning of the plight of his people, Nehemiah enters a time of mourning and prayer.  We catch a glimpse in the latter half of the first chapter.  There are three main components that we read about:

• He repents for his people and their sinfulness.
• He recalls God's promises.
• He prays for favor as he moves into action.

     I am sure there is a mighty 3-point sermon to be extracted out of this prayer, but that will not happen here.  Instead I invite you to think with me about promises.  God's promises to be exact.  Nehemiah quotes scripture concerning God scattering the Israelites throughout the world if they were unfaithful and also scripture that promises a restoration if the people will turn their hearts back to their Lord.  I think Nehemiah recalls these promises to remind both himself and God that the current circumstances were not insurmountable.  Change would not come because of a regime change or penance or a grassroots movement or money and power.  Change would come because God intervened on behalf of his children.  Nothing else.  Nehemiah's first, best strategy was to reconcile himself and his people to the Creator and cling to the promises he heard many years before.

     What are the promises that God has for us?  I am thinking of this question specifically as it applies to myself and Joel's Place, but it is a question we could all ask.  I do not see God promising wealth or peace as I read scripture.  I see a promise of His presence.  I see a promise that everything will work for good...eventually.  I see a promise of forgiveness in repentance.  There is nothing in there about a well-intentioned, service-oriented mission organization being free of financial stress.  I looked.  A lot.

     What do we cling to then?  What promises sustain us through bumpy roads, when the weight of our calling feels unbearable?  That is a question worth asking, and worth asking God.  There are promises that God has made me over the years:  He called me into being a Nehemiah figure for Alaska.  He said that I would be a gift to the nations and help bring freedom to a people.  One of the most traumatic elements of leaving the mission of InterVarsity was wondering if I was leaving those callings and promises as well.  Sears did not seem like it was advancing those avenues at all.  Now that I am at Joel's Place, it seems that God is reaffirming those calls.  I am not willing to call them promises yet, but they are worth investigating in prayer.  Also worth investigating?  God's promises for Joel's Place.  Does He have anything to say about this place and this ministry?  If we remain faithful, is there something that He pledges to do?

I am eager to find out.