Topic: Making a Difference (Nehemiah 1)
What does surfing champion Bethany Hamilton have in common with Nehemiah who rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem 2500 years ago? Both left their mark on the world. Making a mark is a longing in many of us. It is also a calling for all Christians. Making our mark is an invitation from the God of the universe to be a part of what God is doing because God doesn’t do anything without it making a difference, making a mark.
Nehemiah’s journey to making his mark begins at the same place Bethany Hamilton’s journey began, with a pain point. Both had painful events in their lives that set them on a new trajectory for their lives that eventually led them to making their mark.
So what’s a pain point? Well, we all have turning points in our lives. These are life changing or significant events. They might be things like graduations or weddings, or promotions. Some of our turning points are the best moments in our lives. And some are painful moments and events we wish never happened. These might be the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job instead of a promotion. I call these hurtful turning points pain points in our lives.
Bethany Hamilton grew up in Hawaii, surfing all her life. When she was thirteen years old, she was on her surfboard, waiting for a wave when a 14 foot tiger shark attacked her. She survived but lost her left arm. Whatever she planned to do with her life changed. It was as if that shark attack caused Bethany’s life to take a hard right turn. She had been going in one direction and her pain point turned her in what seemed like a completely different direction.
The same thing happened to Nehemiah. Take some time and read Nehemiah chapter 1.
Did you hear the pain point and the right turn? Our text says one fine autumn day, Nehemiah was at the fortress of Susa when he was visited by a group of people including his brother.
Then, something happened. He got bad news from his brother. Remember, I said to listen for the pain point in Nehemiah’s story? Verse 3 was the news of the broken-down walls. Verse 4 was the painful reaction of weeping and praying.
The redeeming thing about our pain points is that, through them, God uses us to make a difference, and helps us make our mark. And, we said that pain points often lead to hard right turns in our lives. Did you hear Nehemiah’s right turn in the text? Verse 11, …Now I was the cupbearer to the king.”
Being the king’s cupbearer is a great job. Nehemiah was at the top of his career. He was trusted by the king and respected by others in the king’s court. What in the world does being a cupbearer have to do with rebuilding a wall in another country 1300 miles away? This is the hard right turn. Nehemiah’s pain point was the bad news from Jerusalem. Now we realize the right turn that news is going to mean Nehemiah’s life is about to go in a totally different direction.
For anyone living with a pain point right now, maybe like Nehemiah’s, yours came out of the blue, unexpectedly. The good news is, God is in the pain redeeming business. Whether your pain point is happening right now or was in the past, each of us can enter into Nehemiah’s process by inviting God into your pain.
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem