Belief and Behavior
– From Becoming A Fulfilled Father by Joyce Meyer
Hebrews 11:6-7
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
7By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Hebrews 11:39
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,
Nehemiah 2:17
Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.”
Ephesians 5:16
redeeming the time,because the days are evil.
If we listed individuals who have made significant, lasting contributions to society, it would be a long one. It would include presidents, pioneers, inventors, recordbreakers. Some were born of noble birth. Most were not. Like you and me, most of them were born humbly and without much fanfare.
While the individuals on our list might have many things in common with “average Joes”, they did separate themselves at some point with uncommon follow through, chasing after what they believed in. They did not sit idly by and wait for something to happen, for someone else to step up. You and I don’t have to either.
Nehemiah believed God could use him to do something significant for his family and his people. Do we?
Consider the Bible heroes found in Hebrews chapter 11. Then, answer this question: ‘By faith,’ what might God be asking you to do now, or in the coming days, months or years? Is He prompting you to do something differently? Have you felt a nudging but kept trying to suppress it? Do you know He wants you to take action but keep putting it off?
Whether you have something new on your heart, or God has been stirring a vision for a long time, let your belief in God dictate your behavior. Nehemiah’s belief in what our great God can do guided his behavior – we must let ours do the same. There is no time like the present.
As we will see, Nehemiah sets a powerful example for us to follow. We will examine a few of the ways he did this. But in all we examine, let’s not overlook the obvious: Nehemiah did not sit idly by. He did not let his disposable job as cupbearer, or his distance from the problem get in his way. He did not fret over finances or analyze vacation days to find the time. He did not wait for a better time, or someday – he started immediately – we can too.