Nehemiah 5:13 At this the whole assembly said, “Amen,” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

What a refreshing statement! It is a sad commentary on human nature that it is noteworthy when people do as they promise. This particular incident is noteworthy in that it indicates there was a famine in the middle of all the other stuff that was going on. (verse 3) Nothing happens in isolation. We would like our lives to be linear, one thing happening at a time, but that’s seldom the way it is. All sorts of things happen at once, and that is a major source of stress in our lives. However, as has been said many times, stress isn’t what happens to us, it’s our response to what happens. We get stressed out because we want to be in control, when in fact we control very little of our lives. Life is filled with choices, but not in the way we would like it to be. We don’t get to choose whether a hurricane will come our way, (either physically or metaphorically) but we can choose how we will respond to that hurricane. Nehemiah was certainly in “hurricane territory” in what he was doing, but his focus was on the only One who could make sense of it all. Once again he is an excellent example for us. There are no direct references to prayer in this part of the narrative, but if the people were saying “Amen” and praising God, there’s no question that Nehemiah dealt with the issue at hand on the basis of obedience to God. We need to remember that, in the words of a song, “God’s got it all in control.” Our first choice in dealing with any situation is to recognize and acknowledge that fact, and let Him show us how to respond. Running from situations is never the answer. Sometimes God tells us to wait, and things resolve without our doing anything, but we had better be sure we are listening to God if we take that course. Often our stress comes from a desire for conflict avoidance, but we need to remember that God trains our hands for battle, (Psalm 18:34, 144:1) and not run away.

This is certainly a timely Word! I have commented several times in recent months that nothing I’m asked to do would seem so difficult if it didn’t all come at me at once! I’m certainly no more in “hurricane territory” than Nehemiah was, and I need to seek and receive God’s guidance as he did. I need to yield not only my circumstances, but my response to those circumstances, to God. I need to remember that song I mentioned and choose to rest, relax, and rejoice, just as He’s told me personally to do. The temptation to run around like a chicken with its head cut off is very real at times, but my Head is Christ, and I must never be separated from Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. It’s a good Word for my birthday! I no more choose most of the things that happen to me than I did the time and circumstances of my birth. Help me be at peace with that and allow You to use me, today and each day, to accomplish Your purposes on Your schedule for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!