GRANTED PERMISSION
NEHEMIAH 2:7-8
I also said to him, “if it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the kings forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests.
I once had an appointment with a certain director of an international organization in which I wanted to exchange some research materials with. I had no official appointment document except for the formal letters which we have been exchanging in communication. It was not easy for a person to get through the security checks that guarded the premises, and since I had traveled from far, I had to act faster in order to have an appointment booked for me. The secretary was unwilling to let a ‘stranger’ in but when I showed the security personnel the letter by the director, the gates were flung open for me and I somebody ushered me the secretary who after seeing the letter, too, ushered me to the directors office. The letter had created a miracle. I couldn’t believe I had made it after seeing the many people being turned down at the gate by the security personnel.
When Sanballat and Tobias ( Nehemiah 2:19 ) started mocking Nehemiah, little did they know that the king had offered him permission, not only to go through, build the wall, but also to get timber from the king’s forest. Nehemiah was bold enough because he had permission from the ’topmost’ authority and above all, the favor of the Lord was upon him. He was confident over his vision and was determined to accomplish his heart’s desires. Many believers look at themselves the same way I had looked at myself as a dummy. You fail not because you have really tried, but because somebody within you had already discouraged you from taking the first step. They say that a thousand’ mile journey starts with a single step. I fought fear and fear fled so fast! There’s nothing that fear fears most than fear itself! Fear fears that you will- make a decision, take a step, risk, love, agree….and when you do it, fear runs away screaming. Almost every human being has some degree of fear but those who overcome fear are those who scare fear away! When you refuse to write that will, on the hospital bed, fear of dying slowly escapes and you emerge out of the hospital bed more buoyant than before!
Jesus Christ had a successful mission here on earth and he still rules effectively simply because he understood the authority bestowed upon him by the One who had sent Him. He rebuked demons, raised the dead, healed the sick, forgave sinners and much much more. The same power and authority, He did give to the believers yet many are scared of rebuking infirmities. It is time for the church to wake up and realise that the promises in the Bible are yeah and amen. The church is supposed to use them for the building of the kingdom of God.
The enemy will continuously lie to you that you are naked and useless. Do not listen to him for he has no part and will have no share to the establishment of Jerusalem. The devil wants you to concentrate on his mischief’s so that you do not get time to rebuking him. There are times that the enemy takes time to pull your attention to him. He brings programmes in the TV which make you fail to attend a service. You have permission to put the devil where he belongs and therefore don’t let him put you where he belongs. His work is to make you feel a nobody, but listen; take heart and build your family, business, career etc. for you have God’s word with you. Remember that when Jesus says Yes! they will say No! but they will never stop you from victory because the King of Kings has said yeah! Glory! In fact their No! is an indicator that Jesus has said Yes! And therefore a sure way to victory.
