Nehemiah 1:2-4 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and … said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…” As a child I heard this nursery rhyme and repeated it often. As the story goes, no one could put Humpty back together after he fell, Humpty was an egg. It is a shame when that happens.
There are times in our lives when we fall-down, we mess up “Big Time”. When this happens apologies are needed, humble crow is eaten and we attempt to bring restoration to a relationship. But it doesn’t always work well. We can be sorry but the damage is done. The other party is injured, mad and not ready to forgive or reconcile. Maybe for a short time things begin to go well, but then the relationship sours again. We try and try and fail and fail. Who is going to put things back together in our life?
Nehemiah listens to their account of the condition of the city of God. He is broken-hearted. What can Nehemiah do from such a distance away? His only response was to sit down and weep.
When the bad news comes what is your first response? Most people freeze up, get angry or run to fix what has happened. They take matters into their own hands and attempt to be like god, bringing something out of the broken nothingness of bad circumstances. This is the Humpty Dumpty Syndrome. No amount of human effort could fix his problem.
But, thankfully, Nehemiah shows us our first response to adversity and disappointment. Prayer begins our journey to wholeness. Only God can put back together what we have shattered in our lives. God is able to provide comfort, strength and help in our every time of need.
