“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
A.W. Tozer
Is He an angry, old man upstairs peering down on you, ready to judge your every move? Is he some master architect or just some impersonal higher power? Maybe as Craig Groeschel suggests, you see Him as (1) An On Demand God who gives you whatever you want when demanded. (2) The Killjoy God who squeezes all the joy and fun out of life.(3) The Goosebumps God who must cater to the whims of your feelings. (4) The Heartless God who shows no love by allowing so many tragedies in the world.
That’s a different god than the God Nehemiah describes. The God of the Bible is a personal, powerful, and lovingly engaged Being. He delivered the Israelites from slavery by parting the Red Sea and leading them to the Promised Land. When they were hungry, God rained down bread from heaven. When they were thirsty, water flowed from a rock. God provided their every need.. Their clothes never wore out!
You would think Israel would be forever grateful. But instead, Nehemiah describes them as entitled, arrogant “stiff-necked” and rebellious. They failed to obey commands and forgot the miracles God performed among them.
God had every right to punish Israel, but instead, He showed them grace. Though there were consequences for their sin, God never abandoned them. He relentlessly pursued them with compassion, love, and protection. That’s the kind of father God is.
Israel’s story is our story. Even when we are sinful, God relentlessly pursues us, acting justly and faithfully. God is not scared of our mess. He meets us right in the middle of it. (He even changed my life.)
Hundreds of years after Nehemiah, God sends the greatest difference maker of all in Jesus. God chose these same Jewish people with their messy past to introduce the Savior of the world to the world. He truly is a gracious God! In light of all God has done, the only appropriate response is gratitude, worship and celebration!
Thomas Chisholm describes Nehemiah’s and my God most accurately:
“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou has been Thou forever will be.”
