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"So it was, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for many days; I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven."
(Nehemiah 1:4)
In our church, we have been studying over the last few months the life of a remarkable man of God in the Old Testament, a man by the name of Nehemiah. He was employed by the king of the Persians and was working hard doing what he was supposed to be doing when God put on his heart a very needed and important mission. God placed a burden on Nehemiah to return to his homeland and provide good and godly leadership in rebuilding the broken wall around the ancient city. He did just that, and God used him mightily.
In Nehemiah 1:4, we get an upfront look at the man. In this text, we discover some key markers or traits of a man of God. As I share these devotional messages with you, my prayer is that God would raise up a host of men worthy to follow, like Nehemiah, the governor of Jerusalem.
Pastor Mark Batterson serves as the pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. He is a prolific and excellent writer, and one of his books is Play the Man, in which he offers examples of godly men that we can pattern our lives after. I recommend it to each man as a good read to bless and also challenge you. He writes, "You don't have to eat the heart of a bear or sleep inside a dead horse like Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant. That might win you some man points, or even an Oscar, but that isn't what playing the man is all about." Batterson shares what he calls the seven virtues of a man: tough love, childlike wonder, will power, raw passion, true grit, clear vision, and moral courage. (Source: Batterson, Play the Man, p. 10)
Batterson's description of a true man reminds me of one of the great men of our faith, the man Nehemiah. I look forward to sharing about him this week in our devotions.
Most men did not have godly dads who taught and showed them what a real man of God looks like. Perhaps you are one of those guys who had to learn godly manhood on your own. Maybe you had men who discipled you along the way or men you have sought to emulate from a distance. I welcome you on this journey of pursuing godly manhood.
You can, by God's grace and power, be a man who is worthy to be followed. If you know Jesus and have the Holy Spirit of God living within you, you have all you need. |
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