KidzPort July 26 – See Yourself a Nehemiah

July 28, 2009

Vision is a funny thing.  Sometimes it can be clear, like on a sunny day.  Other times, things get in the way of our vision.  It can be blocked by objects, obscured by fog, limited by darkness, restricted by the strength of our eyes.   We can enhance vision as well, using night-goggles or binoculars. 

It’s no different with the vision that God gives us.  Some people have clear vision: what they want to do with their lives, how they want to live, what they want to accomplish.  For others, the vision is not quite so clear.  It’s dark and murky, with no clear focus. 

The Bible tells us about how two different people handled the vision that God gave them.  Now, by vision, I don’t mean seeing some ghostly apparition in front of them.  I mean that God gave these two men a sense of what they were supposed to accomplish, and how they were supposed to do it.  He did it in different ways, and the two men went through different paths before fulfilling the vision.

God spoke directly to Jonah: “Arise and go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”  (Jonah 1:2)  This was a clear vision for Jonah – go and call the people of Nineveh on their sins.  A lot of times the vision God gives us is a difficult one, and sometimes we don’t even want to do it.  But we all know what happened to Jonah – when he tried to run from God’s vision, he was swallowed up by a large fish, and finally did what God wanted him to do.

Nehemiah had a different vision.  God showed him (through stories other people told) that the city of Jerusalem was in ruins.  God put it on Nehemiah’s heart to do something about it, to rebuild the walls of the city.  That was a huge vision for a man who was a captive servant.  But Nehemiah never hesitated, and he accomplished his vision.

Are you a Jonah or a Nehemiah?

For Parents:

• Read the story of Jonah from a Bible story book with your children.  What does that tell us about running from God?
• Ask your child if they have a vision for what God wants to do with their lives.  It’s alright if they can’t see it yet.
• Encourage them to pray, and seek God’s vision for their lives.