"I was Cup Bearer to the King"

"...I was cup bearer to the king..." Nehemiah 1:11 

As we’ve been going through the book of Nehemiah in church recently, I was reminded of something I read years ago but it had somehow made its way into the dark, “Me-world” corners of my mind where recall and vision team up in the basement of my mind to watch TV and eat potato chips all day long (I had grown a bit lazy, over-content and disengage from the real world)  I was grateful for the timely reminder.  It comes at the end of chapter one where Nehemiah says, “I was cup bearer to the king.” 

The phrase itself seems a bit out of place at first glance, but upon closer look, the words are remarkably apropos.  God placed a passion in Nehemiah for a restored Jerusalem ...and He was "cup-bearer to the king".  Nehemiah’s role as cupbearer was critical, it afforded him the king’s blessing and approval.  What seems a tag-line to his words serve as an important message.  It’s as if the incidental phrase was for those who would read the memoir in years to come and know that, “Where God puts me is where he uses me….My position has a purpose!”

Have you ever found yourself suddenly aware of a great need and thought, "Somebody should really DO something about this!"  Then you realize  maybe you're that somebody?  I know I have, and when I’m in that place I often ask questions like, “How can God possibly use plain, unqualified, me?  What do I possibly possess that would be of any significant use?” Well the truth is, those questions usually mean I have taken my eyes off of God and have put them back into the small world called “Me” and that world, without God front and center, holds little promise.  However, every person...bears within them a God-call - a role to play in His good Kingdom...and it often comes in the form of a "tag-line".

Nehemiah encountered a great need I'm sure images of it and stories about it replayed in his mind like movie. That's what happens when God awakens us to his call.  Nehemiah felt overwhelmed and compelled to do something about it...and he could because of who he was.   But this realization did not come about automatically.  It was a process and took some time to work out.  Then, taking God’s cue, he made his move.  And step by step, God paved the way for restoration.

How might God be inviting you to be a part of His restorative work?  Do you believe your position has a purpose; that where God puts you is where he intends to use you?  If you have breath in your body you play a role in the Kingdom of God... Our calling is often the place where the needs of this world and our deep gladness and passion collide.  It is often whatever makes us weep or sing....

Who can possibly fathom how far reaching God’s hand becomes and what can be accomplished through one life totally given over to Him right now in “this” moment under “these” circumstances…Who knows!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

 Ephesians 3:20-21

What is your tag-line?  What is it that ignites your passions and makes you weep or sing?

What are the current situation in your own life replay in your mind and compel you to envision something better?

How can you engage God in it?