Today’s Pondering~The Importance of Being Counted
During prayer time this morning, I received the verse, Nehemiah 7:12. I sometimes get these verses and wonder, “What does this have to do with anything I need to know right now?” The verse says, “The sons of Elam, one thousand, two-hundred, fifty-four.” Okay, and? And pages of verses before and after have the same type of detail. But what does it mean to us as believers? As people? Well, the book of Nehemiah is all about re-building the wall around Jerusalem after it had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Nehemiah set out to rebuild the wall and his efforts led to a great political and religious restoration of the Jews after their time as Babylonian captives.
Nehemiah is one of my favorite books of the Bible because it perfectly illustrates one man’s obedience to God and his willingness to use his gifts to rebuild and repair something that was broken. It’s the story of how one individual can have a profound impact on an entire nation and the world, for that matter. Nehemiah was heartbroken by the destruction he saw, so he asked the king if he could lead the efforts to rebuild the wall. A wall, in Biblical times, had great significance as the fortifying structure of a city. There is a whole lot of information just on the types of walls and all of the gates and so forth, but I’m not going to get into that here.
Back to the counting. In the verse, we see the people being counted and as I said, you might wonder at the significance of that counting. Well, since only around 2% of the Jews who were in Babylonian captivity returned to Jerusalem once they were free, the listing of their names is quite significant. They had the spirit to rebuild and in that spirit, they showed faith and hope for a brighter future. A future of freedom. And that is absolutely worth counting.
As we look at the way our freedoms are being manipulated today and even worse, systematically removed, I can’t help but see the connection between the spirit that was needed to rebuild Jerusalem and the spirit that will be necessary to rebuild our country and our world after the years of degradation that we have suffered at the hands of evil. Our counting must start now! Who will be on that roster? Will you?
What does your heart look like? Do your priorities lie in building your faith or in boosting your ego? Wise Up to Rise Up looks at how we prioritize faith and our God-given purpose and gives you a plan for creating a life that more closely resembles the one God made for you.
Get it today in the HGBM Shop or on Audible!
Rebecca Benston is the owner of Higher Ground Books & Media and the author of over twenty titles currently available through Amazon and other outlets. Her books include a mystery series (The Rona Shively Stories), empowerment resources such as Wise Up to Rise Up, Don’t Be Stupid (And I Mean That in the Nicest Way), and From Judgment to Jubilee, children’s books including Grumble D. Grumble Learns to Smile, All the Scary Things, and See How Strong You Are.
Benston lives in Springfield, Ohio with her awesome daughter, Mya and enjoys traveling, reading, writing, and telling it like it is. She enjoys being able to help other authors get their stories out there through Higher Ground and has recently expanded her freelance services to offer more extensive guidance as a writing coach and social media manager. For more information, you can contact Benston at highergroundbooksandmedia@gmail.com.
answers author beliefs Bible empowerment faith society thinking be counted Bible empowerment faith freedom gifts God hope leadership motivation moving forward Nehemiah protecting the city rebuilding the wall spirit spiritual gifts stand up
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My name is Rebecca Benston. I’m a Christian. I’m a woman. I’m a mother. I’m a writer. I’m a thinker. When I write fiction, I am usually writing a mystery series called The Rona Shively Stories. My P.I. character, Rona Shively is feisty, fearless and fabulous and is usually caught up in something she doesn’t want to be caught up in. In addition to this series, I also have a blog called Higher Ground for Life. Through this blog, I’m hoping to reach women or anyone who is seeking to develop a relationship with God and give them inspiration to get out there and follow His path for their lives!
I also have a blog called Leading the Follower. This one is my favorite. I write about religion, faith, spirituality and all that goes along with it. What we believe, what we don’t believe, what we are told to believe and how society feels about believing in general. I do a lot of testifying here and some of what I say may make you angry. Most of it will make you think. Some of it will make you cry. Any of it could make you laugh. It’s really up to you.
If you are looking for practical advice, honest conversation, and no nonsense observations about living in today’s world, check out my blogs at http://highergroundbooksandmedia.com and http://www.ronashively.wordpress.com and http://www.highergroundforlife.wordpress.com and http://www.leadingthefollower.wordpress.com. And if you’re so inclined, you can purchase my books and some other great, inspirational works from Higher Ground Books & Media at http://highergroundbooksandmedia.com.
Be blessed!
Leading the Follower 