Contemplative Bible Reading

Nehemiah 2:7-8 (The Living Bible)

7 Then I added this to my request: “If it pleases the king, give me letters to the governors west of the Euphrates River instructing them to let me travel through their countries on my way to Judah; 8 also a letter the Asap, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber for the beams and for the gates of the fortress near the Temple, and for the city walls, and for a house for myself.”

And the king granted these requests, for God was being gracious to me.

The King of Persia liked Nehemiah, a good and faithful servant. Nehemiah asked the king for many things. That is an understatement; Nehemiah asked for a lot of things. The King of Persia gave Nehemiah what he requested.

Wow. What a kind king. What a good persuader Nehemiah was.

The conclusion:

God was being gracious to me.

Excuse me? This was all between Nehemiah and the king. Right? Where was God in this conversation?

God was everywhere in this conversation. God is everywhere in every conversation I ever have. I infer that God is in every conversation between every group of persons everywhere all the time. Sometimes, well, make that almost all the time, we tend to omit God’s part. We tend to omit the graciousness that is available from God. How stupid are we? How stubborn are we? How arrogant are we?

And God still loves us—the wonder of the grace of God.