The Cup-bearer is the Standard-bearer

From today’s reading…

Nehemiah was the cup-bearer for King Artaxerxes.

This was a big deal because the King trusted him with his life since Nehemiah had access to everything the King ate and drank, which could easily be poisoned.

Fortunately, the King was a decent human being who saw the sadness in Nehemiah and offered to help.

Nehemiah was sad because his ancestral home, Jerusalem, was in ruins and all of Judah was a mess. He was granted permission to return and lead the rebuilding of Jerusalem with the King’s support.

As a result, not only was Jerusalem restored, but Nehemiah was eventually chosen to serve as governor of Judah not once, but twice, for well over a dozen years.

If Nehemiah had not done his best as a servant/staff member of the King’s he never would have been in a position to A) be noticed by the King, or B) be known so well by the King that he could as—and receive—such a big favor.

In other words, do what you can where you are with what you’ve got, which means you need to…

Stay the course. Keep the faith. Endure.