Christian Devotional – January 25, 2020

Day 25 – Fear of God. Why did Nehemiah do what was right? He feared God.

Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food allowance. But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.
Nehemiah 5:14‭-‬15 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/neh.5.14-15.NASB

Sure, others had done things differently in the past. Others had cut corners and found loopholes. But Nehemiah, he didn’t do that. Why? Nehemiah feared God.

No matter what situation we find ourselves in, if our reason for “doing the right thing” is anything besides the fear of God, eventually we will find ourselves compromising on the standards we are holding to. There will eventually be a right price or a right circumstance or a right outcome that we will use to justify why we are doing something that is wrong. Only if we are fearing God and seeking His holiness and righteousness will we continuing pushing to demonstrate our love for him, no matter what the situation or circumstances. Do we fear God in every area of our lives today?