Showing Emotion

Most of the time when we look at the book of Nehemiah we concentrate on the great task of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem and the incredible opposition that Nehemiah endured to that project. But today I want to focus on what may seem a very insignificant, but I think important, part of the story.

Nehemiah 2:1 "In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." Then I was very afraid."

There is a subtle pressure as a Christian to always be happy. After all, Jesus has won the victory over sin and death so what reason do you have to be sad? While this is true, it sets up believers to be like the medal-givers at the Beijing Olympics - always smiling with 6-8 teeth showing and never reveal any emotion. It's not real and it can actually hamper the work of God.

Nehemiah had just prayed about the state of his homeland (he was in Babylon at the time). The walls of Jerusalem were in rubble and he lamented the sin of the people that had led God to force them out of Israel. He didn't mean to, but he carried that godly sorrow into his interactions with the king.

If he had forced a smile and was not himself, the king would not have asked him anything and Jerusalem's walls would not have been rebuilt. He showed emotion, he was real.

We need to be real as Christians as well. When God moves in your heart, even if it is in sorrow, don't hide it away thinking that others will consider you weak and not a "good Christian." Instead, let the love of God and the emotion of God flow through you. Jesus wept convulsively at times. Jesus got angry at sin and those trying to keep people away from a relationship with God.

Sometimes it is your real emotions that actually work to break down barriers and allow the real work of God to begin in someone's life.

Pastor Tom