Nehemiah 2:1

Nehemiah 2:1 says, And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.  While performing his duty as the cupbearer of the king, Nehemiah was sad for the first time.  This probably wasn’t a good thing, since the king would expect him to be happy to serve him.  We may be happy with our job today, but as followers of Christ, we should be saddened by the spiritual state of the world. 

Verse two adds, Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,  The king noticed Nehemiah’s sadness and since he didn’t appear to be physically ill, he asked him why he was sad, and Nehemiah was very afraid.  The king had power over him, and he didn’t want to say something that would make him angry.  We cannot allow fear to keep us from speaking out about spiritual concerns today, especially when people are trying to destroy God’s people and His word. 

Verse three continues, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?  Nehemiah started by praising the king, and then told him why he was sad.  The city where his ancestors were buried, Jerusalem, was in ruins and the gates of the city had even been burned.  There are a lot of the things of God that people are trying to destroy today, and this should leave us sad, but also willing to act to help restore them. 

Verse four concludes, Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.  When the king asked Nehemiah what he wanted from him, the first thing Nehemiah did was pray, and that should be our first action today.  Of course, in order to work to restore the things of God in the world, we must first be one of His people.  The only way to do that is by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.