Serve to win respect!

Nehemiah 2:4 - The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.”

Nehemiah blurts out at the beginning of this story and says, “This day was one of the scariest in my life.” He was caught, he didn’t mean too. But the weight of the burden of his fellow countrymen in Judah living in Jerusalem in distress had caused Nehemiah to walk around with sadness, and the king noticed. In concern the king asked Nehemiah, “Why are you so sad? Your sadness can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

Did you catch that… the king was concerned for Nehemiah, his servant.

This shows me they must have had a good relationship. The king could have said, “You’re here to serve me, so don’t bring your problems to work.” But no, the king showed concern toward Nehemiah.

There is something we can learn from this story today: If you serve faithfully at your work, being diligent and doing everything to your best, when the day comes when you have the opportunity to speak, you will be heard.

Nehemiah had served faithfully as a cupbearer to the king and because of that he had gained favour with the king…. That much favour that the king said, “What is it you want?”

Could you imagine your boss saying something like that too you?

What do words like that really mean? 

The king is saying I trust you; you have served me faithfully so I have no problem giving you what you ask.

Can I give you a word of warning… I think we can read these stories and be encouraged by the favour and blessing these men received, however we can focus on the blessings and miss the underlying teaching point.

The underlying message was that Nehemiah served faithfully. He was diligent so therefore he won the respect from the king.

So serve and win respect!