God Inspired Courage

The book of Nehemiah is full of great nuggets on Spiritual leadership. Last week I unpacked how Nehemiah had a tenderness that moved him to action. 
 
Another interesting thing I’ve noticed in the book of Nehemiah is how much prayer is in the book. 
 
2:4 “With a prayer to God in Heaven.”
4:4 “Then I prayed”
4:9 “But we prayed”
9:5 “Then they prayed.”
 
When you read Nehemiah, you see that these short little prayers come when Nehemiah needs courage. It’s when he’s talking to King Artaxerxes and when there is opposition to the building of the city wall. 
 
To me it reveals not Nehemiah’s super-spirituality. Think about this. Nehemiah must have been the one who retold the story so it could be written down. That means Nehemiah (a governor and reformer) intentionally revealed that he prayed for courage. I respect Nehemiah all the more now that I know that he led the Israelites even when he didn’t have the courage in himself.
 
Nehemiah knew that his strength to achieve great things came not from his own abilities and vision, but through the power and strength of his God. More than that, Nehemiah demonstrated humility by letting others see his lack of courage. 
 
By turning to God for courage Nehemiah becomes the leader the Israelites need. He rallied the people around God instead of himself and through that the wall was built and the glory of the city was restored.
 
Many times in ministry we are called to face a challenge that we aren’t up to. I know that I lack courage when I have conflict with someone and I need to address the issue. In those times, Nehemiah begs us turn to God and ask Him for courage.
 
So what about you? What are you lacking courage to do? Is it a hard conversation or a ministry change? Take time right now to ask God for courage.
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick