Nehemiah 2:12-16 – Journaling life

Nehemiah knew that to be effective in restoring Jerusalem he had to know the degree of the damage. The ruin of the city was not just in the walls but also in the gates. After three days of rest, he went on a secret reconnaissance. He did not tell anyone what God had put in his heart to do. Wise move! Many a time plans are spoilt because of different views. The common saying that too many cooks can spoil the broth is true. Ever come across people that can only see the hole and not the dough in a doughnut. They make all the negative excuses when they have made up their minds not to be involved. It is always wiser to have an exact knowledge of the situation oneself before involving others. Nehemiah knew that only with an accurate appraisal of the situation, then would he be able to have a more accurate plan to present to others. So he went on a secret night mission alone to survey the torn-down walls and burnt gates of Jerusalem.   He had no one with him except the animal probably a mule or a donkey that he rode on.        

Many of the places were damaged and or burnt down. Nehemiah 2:13-14 describe his itinerary. In his own words, he said, “I went out at night by the Valley Gate in the direction of the Dragon’s Well and on to the Refuse Gate, inspecting the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were consumed by fire. Then I passed on to the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was no place for my mount to pass.” We can tell how careful he was to inspect the different parts of the walls, gates, and even the well. When he came to the Fountain Gate and the King’s pool, where he could not ride through on his mule or donkey. So verse 15 said that he “went up at night by the ravine and inspected the wall. He also entered the Valley Gate again and returned.  Verse 16 reiterated that he did not let anyone know of his mission, “…the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials or the rest who did the work.”

These verses point us to the need of making a careful appraisal of life. changes are not possible when there is no self-awareness. The first step to change is self-awareness. There can be no self-awareness when there is no honest appraisal. This is true for all aspects of life, especially in our spiritual journey. Every one of us wants to progress in our intimacy with God. We certainly can recall times when have had a fruitful devotion and we must have plenty of those times. But we must also identify times that we have not been so well connected with God. In self-examination, we identify where we have gone wrong so that we can make the needful correction and adjustments. We should not presume or pretend that everything is right.

One useful tool to identify areas in our life that need to change is a personal journal. You can do it in the morning before your activities for the day start or the night before you turn in to bed. If you do it in the morning, spend time to recall what happened the day before and record honestly, your feelings, your attitude, your rights, your wrongs, etc.  You can start with the record with, “Yesterday, …”   If you do it at night, recall what happened that day. One good way to start if you are recording your journal in the night would be, “this morning…” Know that the first step to change is self-awareness. A good tool for self-awareness is your journal. Try it and you will be amazed to discover your unconscious habits.