At 17, I gave my heart to God. But that doesn’t mean my habits directly followed. For years, my Sundays looked like this: Wake up at 7:30am to watch the Notre Dame highlights. Go to mass at 9am, then CCD until 11am. I’d go home, eat steak, watch the Steeler game at 1pm, then the Cowboys after that.
After I became a believer, I realized the focus of my Sundays was going to have to change! Not just my Sundays, though; my every-days.
This is a crossroads every believer comes to. Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 10:1, 5 when he reminds the Israelites: “our ancestors were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea… Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them.” Paul reminds the Israelites that their people experienced God’s delivering power when He led them out of Egypt through the Red Sea. They’d also experienced His presence as the cloud that led them in the wilderness.
They had deliverance and presence—just like many believers today. Yet they still missed out on God’s best. Why? Because they wanted their way more than God’s way. We too can experience salvation and God’s presence, but still resist His leadership and miss out on His favor.
So how do we walk in God’s favor? The book of Nehemiah shows us how the Israelites returned to it—and how we can too.
First, they respected God’s Word. In Nehemiah 8:1-4, Ezra the priest brought out The Book—the law of Moses—stood on a high wooden platform, and read it from daybreak for six hours while all the people listened attentively.
It might look different for us today, but the principle remains: if we want transformation in our lives and families, we must bring out The Book in our homes. Instead of allowing opinions or society to define us, we need to let God’s Word reign—however inconvenient it feels.
Second, the Israelites rejoiced in God’s Word. Verses 5-6 tell us that when Ezra praised the Lord, the people lifted their hands, responded “Amen!”, bowed down and worshiped. Ezra instructed them not to stop at weeping over their sins but to rejoice at the future God had given them.
We too can rejoice over God’s Word. After allowing it to show us where we’ve gone wrong, we can get excited about the promises for our future!
Third, the Israelites found reproof from God’s Word. Verse 11 tells us the Levites reminded the people it was a holy day—one set aside for correction. When we allow God’s Word to define our lives, we become who God called us to be.
Fourth, the Israelites learned to rely on God’s Word. Verses 16-17 tell us they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles—a feast designed to remind them of their Source.
The Israelites discovered the secret, and now we can too. When we anchor our lives in God’s Word, His favor becomes our daily reality!
