Walls will fall. Let’s get ready to see how God will use us this year
By Dean Collins
I have a few predictions for 2022. No one in Las Vegas will pay any attention to my predictions, and no one will make a wager or determine any odds. They should, because I think you could take my predictions to the bank.
Walls will fall
Here’s what I predict: Someone’s walls will be broken down this year. Someone’s gates will be destroyed.
It might be a literal collapse of walls and gates to a house, a neighborhood, or a town. Or it might be the near destruction of a person’s emotional, physical, social, or spiritual health. It could happen to someone or someplace far away. It may happen to someone in your community you don’t know very well. It could happen to someone close by.
I’m not wishing this on anyone. I know you don’t want it to happen to anyone, either. But the truth is, for any number of reasons and mostly because we live in a fallen world, things fall apart. Every one of us will hear about someone’s difficulties this year. We will then be faced with what God wants us to do. We won’t know unless we pray.
God will prompt
Here is another prediction for this year. God will prompt you to help build some walls and fix some gates this year. He won’t ask you to build all the broken walls or fix all the damaged gates. But he will prompt you to help someone or help change some situation.
This is one of the similarities we have with Nehemiah. We can help no matter what our background or current occupation. Nehemiah wasn’t a priest or prophet. He was born to Jewish parents living in exile. He lived in Susa where he served as the wine taster for the king. His duty was not that of a modern-day sommelier, responsible for choosing the best wines and making the right wine pairings. The main reason he tasted the wine first was to make sure no one was poisoning the king. It would be a fun job except for that one time when someone did try to poison the king.
Nehemiah was trusted by the king, and because trust had been established, he was likely also an adviser. Nehemiah’s character was formed by his faith in God. The combination of his faith in God and his faithfulness to the king gave Nehemiah access to the one who was in authority.
The time is now
When we choose to lean into our faith and are faithful in our current responsibilities, our character is formed and the trust we earn can and will be leveraged for God’s purposes. We may or may never have access to a king or a president, but our access to God through Jesus is of much greater benefit to repairing walls and fixing gates.
If my predictions are right, now is the time to prepare our hearts and minds for what God has planned for us this year. He wants to use all of us to extend his love and his kingdom. Every one of us will have a Nehemiah opportunity in the coming months. Let’s prepare now for the task that lies ahead of us.
I can’t wait to watch and maybe even work with you as we do our kingdom restoration work this year.
Your time with God’s Word
Nehemiah 1:3-4, 8-11 ESV
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
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