Some of the impossible-sounding things God asks us to do in His name require the release of God’s grace and favor before the fruit of our obedience can be seen and experienced.

To accomplish our Kingdom assignment, we must understand that what we are doing in the Lord’s name requires more than what our education or past experience can provide.  It requires the favor and grace of God.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to the Persian king, Artaxerxes. He was a trustworthy man who protected the king’s wine cup from attempts to poison him. To show any signs of personal distress could reveal that a plot was underway to poison the king. To have the king wrongly interpret any sadness in his cupbearer could lead to a death sentence.

Months after hearing the news that the walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates of the city were burned, Nehemiah was troubled by the news “When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:4).  Part of his prayer that day, was this request to the Lord, “Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” (vs. 11).

After praying that prayer, Nehemiah was called to appear before the king to serve him. At this time, Nehemiah was no longer able to mask his feelings. The king asked him what was wrong. After hearing Nehemiah’s story, the king asked, “How can I help you?” (2:4).

When Nehemiah asked the king for letters of safe passage and the materials needed to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, the king granted his request.  The king even sent an army unit with Nehemiah to protect him on his journey to Jerusalem. 

After arriving in Jerusalem and secretly surveying the project, Nehemiah finally told the city officials his plan, “Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king” (2:18). Those hearing what happened in Nehemiah’s meeting with the king plan and what God had provided for him, they agreed, so the rebuilding project began.

None of this would have been possible without God’s grace and favor. The Lord opened the door to the king’s heart and made a way for Nehemiah to leave the king’s service with the king’s blessing and provision.

In the following days, Nehemiah would face opposition in the form of lies and misrepresentations. That opposition would have stopped the project in its tracks had not God opened doors for Nehemiah that seemed impossible to open. With the Lord, nothing is impossible for His people if His grace and favor are leading the way.