Brother Michael's Devotional

"The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven," Nehemiah 1:1-4

Have you ever wondered what your calling is? You may wonder what ministry will the Lord place you in. Though a man or woman's calling is a very personal thing there are some definite signs that God gives us to point us in the right direction.

First, let us establish that God has a ministry for all of those in the Body of Christ. We read in I Corinthians 12:7 that "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal," (emphasis mine.) Each one of us have unique spiritual gifts and a ministry to edify the Body of Christ. These gifts are not natuaral talents and these ministries are not of our own design, but they are bestowed upon us as it pleases the Holy Ghost. I Corinthians 12:11

Which brings us to the original question, what ministry would God have you or me in? Well let us look to the life of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, after hearing the news of Jerusalem's broken down walls and breached gates, is burdened for the capital city of his people and does what any man of God should do in his situation, pray. After mourning, fasting and praying, Nehemiah, who is King Artaxerxes cupbearer, has a sad countenance and the King asks him why he is sorrowful of heart. Nehamiah bears his heart to Artaxerxes and relates to him the state of Jerusalem and his desire to rebuild it's walls. After this, the King gives Nehamiah letters of conveyance and sends him to rebuild Jerusalem.

Now friend, what is it that God has burdened you heart with. Do you anguish for the lost who daily perish in their sins? Do you lament the lack of sound Bible teaching? Maybe your heart breaks for those bound to convalecent homes or hospitals. Perhaps you have gone to God in prayer for these things. It very well may be that God has placed this burden on your heart, and desires to minister in this need through you. You may balk at this, protesting your inability, but that is exactly the people God uses. Those who have a burden for a certain need, but do have the power to meet them. Go to God now, cast your inadequecy at His feet, and see not what you can do, but what He can do through you.

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen th weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." I Corinthians 1:26-29