Nehemiah The Swifty

Sunday School Chronicles

Me: All month we’re learning about my boy Nehemiah. He was a wine bearer. Do y’all know what that is?

Kids: No.

Me: Basically Nehemiah’s job was to keep King Artaxerxes glass full. That’s it. Would you like that job?

Kids: No! You don’t do anything else!

Me: I get that but you gotta admit, it’s a pretty easy job. Nehemiah is a Jewish man. His family is from Jerusalem. Let me give you some backstory. Back in the day, the Jewish people were super disobedient. It’s not like God was asking them to do hard things. God was like, “Don’t worship fake gods.” The people were like, “Bet! Ooh! New god! Shiny!” Here’s the thing about God, He gives you time to say sorry and be obedient. But the Jewish people didn’t, for generations. So God said, “You know what! I’m sending people who don’t even believe in Me to punish you on my behalf. Good luck!”

Kids: What???

Me: Yup! Cut to Nehemiah. He learns that the walls of Jerusalem were destroyed. Dude turned into Taylor Swift. He was crying, writing poetry, wouldn’t eat. It was like a bad breakup. But then the king wanted some wine. Can you go before the king looking sad?

Kids: No! Then he’d be sad. The king would mad.

Me: Let me tell y’all something. If I was queen, my entire queendom would be a mood. Disney+ all day! Mandatory Pokémon Go! 90s R&B! Video games! Pink everywhere! Nehemiah would ruin the Jantasy. But the king saw him and said, “Nehemiah. What’s wrong?” Nehemiah said, “King, live forever. I can’t be happy when the walls of my homeland are destroyed.” Artaxerxes said, “For real? Bro, that sucks. How can I help?” Nehemiah says a quick prayer. Then he said, “Mr. King, can you send me home to fix the walls?” Artaxerxes said, “Bet!”

Reflect: God uses all people to complete His plans, but He chooses His children to partner with Him. Sometimes things may seem sad, but don’t worry! God has you covered in ways you never expected. What can you do to make sure you’re ready when God asks you to help Him get the job done?