HONEST ANSWERS
Today's reading: Nehemiah 1-4

"Hanani, one of my brothers, came to visit me with some other men who had just arrived from Judah. I asked them about the Jews who had survived the captivity and about how things were going in Jerusalem. They said to me, Things are not going well..." Nehemiah 1:2-3 NLT

If you know anything about the book of Nehemiah, about Nehemiah himself or about the amazing task Nehemiah and the Jewish people undertook--then you know this is an amazing book!

How God speaks through Nehemiah. How God chooses to use Nehemiah. How God enables Nehemiah. How God speaks to us through the book of Nehemiah.

But how great all of this is is based solely on the fact that when asked, some people gave honest answers.

Had Hanani and his friends provided Nehemiah with the 'Sunday school answer' in regards to how things were going, the tide would never have turned.

They had to be open about the problems they were facing.

They had to admit they were unable to fix things on their own.

They had to open up about their disappointments and discouragements.

That, friend, took bravery. 

It took trust.

It took being at a spot, a rather low spot, and knowing the prayers and help from another is all you have left.

It's an example for us!

As members of a body of believers, we've got to stop attempting to handle things on our own. We've got to stop buying into the lie that we're strong enough individually. We've got to get to the point in our Christian walks that we are leaning on God--and on the people of God He surrounds us with.

So, the next time someone asks how you are--be honest.