“Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven …with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them… You are the Lord, the God who chose Abraham and brought him out of Ur… You found his heart faithful before you, and made with him the covenant to give to his offspring the land… And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.
“You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea,.. You divided the sea before them, so that they went through on dry land, and you cast their pursuers into the depths… By a pillar of cloud you led them in the day, and by a pillar of fire in the night to light the way in which they should go. You… gave them right rules and true laws… You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger and brought water out of the rock for their thirst…
“But they acted presumptuously… and did not obey your commandments They… stiffened their neck… But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them. Even when they… committed great blasphemies, you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness… Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing…
“You gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land… So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness…
“When they turned and cried to you, you heard from heaven, and many times you delivered them according to your mercies…
“Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love, let not all the hardship seem little to you that has come upon us… until this day. Yet you have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully.” Nehemiah 9:5b-9,11-13,15-19,21-22,25,28,32-33
Rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem mirrored the reestablishing of Israel’s covenant with the Lord. Ezra read the Law, Nehemiah directed celebration, and the Levites led in the reading and application of God’s word. Then they prayed, confessing sin and claiming all that the Lord had done for them in the past. Based on His numberless deeds executed in mercy and love, backed by His character and divine purposes, they boldly asked that He continue His faithfulness on their behalf.
Confidence in the Lord comes from earnest communion with Him. Sin and straying impose distance, but His mercy invites us to return. Awareness of His past deeds, both hidden and obvious, breeds gratitude, and expectancy for more. When we acknowledge His greatness and sovereignty, are honest about our many affronts to His holiness, and trace His grace and power, we grow emboldened to approach anew. (Hebrews 4:16)
The Lord God abounds in steadfast love and grace. How have we experienced His continual faithfulness and ongoing redemption? Where have we seen Him deliver, guide, provide, instruct, and conquer? What is keeping us from asking confidently for this great God to do it again? (Psalm 119:90; Isaiah 14:27; Lamentations 3:22-23; Philippians 1:6)
Father, embolden me in gratitude, prayer, and expectancy, for You are great and good.
As the rain and snow 