Remember Me...

There was only one thing to do with him.

"He needs to be removed from the congregation." 

A couple men looked at Nehemiah like he was crazy. Maybe he was crazy - if it was indeed crazy to protect what the Lord had deemed sacred, then yes, Nehemiah was full-blown crazy.

A group of men had just approached Nehemiah, feeling a burden to share what they had learned. Nehemiah had been talking with a group of close confidants about the reforms he had been enforcing among the people. The group of men had approached Nehemiah hesitantly, and at first, he hadn't paid them much attention.

Not until something within him ordered him to turn around and listen to them.

They had awkwardly stumbled and bumbled along before finally getting to the main event. Jehoiada, the son of high priest, Eliashib, was the son-in-law to Sanballat.

Sanballat. 

Even the thought of that man brought a tight feeling to Nehemiah's stomach.

"How can we just remove him? It isn't right, is it?"

Nehemiah shook his head firmly. "Do you know what isn't right? Giving sons and daughters in marriage to nations that don't follow after the Lord. That is not right. There are consequences for such an act. These are Jehoiada's consequences."

The men exchanged looks, and Nehemiah could see it in their eyes that they all thought him to be hard of heart and plain old mean.

Nehemiah rubbed his forehead as he strode in the opposite direction to deal with Jehoiada. He had been getting that a lot lately. 

So he prayed the one thing he could pray. The one thing that had been keeping him going since this started. 

Remember me, oh my God, for good.

Based on Nehemiah 13:28-31

The thing I loved the most about this chapter, was the very end. The very last sentence.

"Remember me, O my God, for good." Nehemiah 13:31b

I just found this to be such a fitting prayer after everything that Nehemiah had done in this chapter, and really, in this book of the Bible. This man was a work horse, and he wouldn't stand for someone desecrating the law of God. 

Which I'm sure got him voted "Most Popular" among the people.

Not.

Think about it. So many of those people had to give up the "fun" things they were using to sin. Now, none of us like to give stuff up, and no one likes to be called on the carpet for something. I'm sure people were gripping left and right about Mr. Nehemiah and all his fancy new rules.

Some of those people would remember Nehemiah as the twit who took away their fun, and some of them would remember him as the man who helped lead the people back to God. 

But this heartfelt little prayer at the end of Nehemiah's story is what gets my heart.

"Remember me, O my God, for good." Nehemiah 13:31b

No matter what I do, no matter what they say about me, I want my actions to be remembered by God as good. One day, I want God to wrap his arm around me and say, "I remember this girl. She was such a faithful servant. I remember her for doing good." What an awesome thing that would be to hear! 

Let that thought be your driving action behind every one your decisions. It doesn't matter what people around you say about the things you believe, the rules you may enforce, or the Godly lifestyle that you live. What matters is that God remembers your actions as good in His sight. That's what makes it all worth while.

"Remember me, O my God, for good." Nehemiah 13:31b

V. Joy Palmer