Intro:

Have you ever seen a tightrope walker, high above the ground, slowly making their way across a thin wire???… In one hand, they hold a long pole, stretching out to either side. The pole is not there for show—it's an essential tool that keeps them balanced.

As they walk, every step requires careful attention. They make tiny adjustments to the pole, tilting it one way, then the other, to maintain their balance. If they lean too far to one side, they risk losing control and falling. But if they over-correct, the same thing could happen in the opposite direction. The key is to remain centered—always making small shifts, but never going too far.

Life is a lot like walking that tightrope. It’s about balance. We are pulled in many directions by our responsibilities—our work, family, health, relationships, and spiritual life. Each of these things is important, but if we focus too much on one and neglect the others, we start to lose balance.

For instance, if we become consumed by work, our family relationships may suffer. If we focus only on our personal lives and ignore our spiritual growth, our relationship with God may begin to diminish.

The book of Ecclesiastes offers us wisdom on this very issue. In Ecclesiastes 3:1, we read: "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." This scripture reminds us that different aspects of life require attention at different times. Our challenge is to recognize the right time and maintain balance among them.

As we continue our series on godly leadership, through the book of Nehemiah,… this morning we are going to look at…

A Balanced Life

(Read Nehemiah 2:1-10)

Meat:

As I stated before… Life is all about balance…

Balanced diet

The balance of work and family

The balance of work, family and ministry

The balance of different relationships, your spouse, your kids, your siblings, your friends...

In order to be the godly leaders that God wants us to be, we must maintain proper balance… Nehemiah knew this and as we go through our passage today, we are going to see a few areas that he was balanced in… and these are some of the areas in which we need to find balance as well.

First of all…

Nehemiah was Balanced in...

1. Patience

Most of us would probably claim to be a fairly patient person, but the true test of one's patience is while driving—especially when you're stuck behind someone going 10 miles under the speed limit, and suddenly you’re questioning all your life choices, wondering if this is the moment God is trying to teach you a lesson... or just trying to test your will to stay out of jail!

It is not easy to be patient, especially when God has placed a burden on your heart. You feel that sense of urgency, like you're carrying something heavy that needs to be set down right away. But instead of quick answers, God sometimes asks us to wait…

Last week we looked at Nehemiah’s prayer in chapter 1… and we know from v.1 of chapter one that the events in that first chapter took place in the month of Chislev… which, on our calendar would be around November/December.

Now we get to chapter 2 and Nehemiah gives us a different month…

Nehemiah 2:1 “1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king… ”

The events of chapter 1 were in the month of Chislev (nov/dec) and the events of chapter 2 begin in the month of Nisan… which would be March/April on our calendar… … So Nehemiah started praying in November, but the answer to that prayer didn’t come until March… 4-5 months later…

I’ve seen this happen many times… and let me tell you… It can be incredibly discouraging when God places a burden on your heart, and yet asks you to wait.

You feel the weight of that burden, whether it's a deep desire to see a loved one come to faith, a calling to serve in a specific way, or a personal longing for breakthrough in your own life. The urgency of the need can feel overwhelming, and in those moments, waiting doesn’t make sense. You wonder why, if the burden is so heavy and the need so real, God doesn’t just move quickly.... It can feel like God is distant, or that your prayers are being unheard, even though deep down you know He is faithful.

This discouragement often stems from our natural tendency to want results on our timeline. We live in a fast-paced world where waiting is seen as a delay, and we often interpret delays as denials. But God's timing isn’t like ours. He may be working behind the scenes, preparing things in ways we can’t see, or using the waiting period to grow something within us.

As Nehemiah feels this heavy burden to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and yet finds balance in Patiently waiting on the LORD, he reveals his…

1.1 Trust in God

Patience in waiting is an acknowledgment that God is sovereign. It’s easy to trust God when things are going smoothly or when answers come quickly. The real test of trust happens in the waiting—when we’re tempted to take matters into our own hands, when doubt creeps in, or when we feel like nothing is moving forward. That’s when waiting becomes a powerful statement of trust. It’s like saying, “Lord, I choose to surrender control. I believe You are working behind the scenes, even if I can’t see it right now.”

Nehemiah not only trusted God with the burden of his heart, but he trusted God with his life…

Nehemiah 2:1–2 “1 And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. 2 Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid,”

Nehemiah was “sad” in the last part of verse 1 and this word is used three other times to describe how he looked when he was in the presence of the king. The king asked him a question to find out why Nehemiah was not his chipper self. Nehemiah wigged out when Artaxerxes asked him this question because he knew the king only wanted to be around happy people. In verse 2, Nehemiah says that he was “dreadfully afraid” which can literally be translated as, “a terrible fear came over me.”

I think he was dreadfully afraid because he knew that he was expected to be perfectly content just to be in the presence of the king. People who were sad or depressed around the king were usually executed for “raining on his parade.”

For Nehemiah, even though he knew his sadness was written all over his face, he trusted the fact that God had a plan for his life and he still chose to perform his duties before the King.

We will talk more about this in just a few minutes, but I want to point out right here that as Nehemiah patiently waited for God’s direction, he utilized his opportunity to prepare… he had a…

1.2 Time of Preparation

Again, we will talk more about this in a moment, but the point is, Nehemiah could’ve done a lot of different things over the course of the 4-5 months that he was waiting…

He could have decided to take matters into his own hands, quit his job, moved to Jerusalem and hopefully get the people and materials that he needed to rebuild the wall.

In our own lives, when we rush ahead without seeking God's will, we might choose paths that seem right in the moment but lead to hardship later. Whether it's a hasty career move, a rushed financial decision, or entering into a relationship without discernment, acting out of impatience often leads to regret and consequences that could have been avoided by waiting patiently.

Instead of taking matters into his own hands, Nehemiah could’ve quit praying after a few weeks… “Well, I’ve been praying about this and I haven’t seen anything happen, so I guess I’ll move on to something else.”

By deciding to “move on” when things don’t happen as quickly as we’d like, we demonstrate a belief that God should operate according to our timetable. This is dangerous because it puts us, rather than God, in control… It reduces our faith to a matter of convenience rather than a deep, trusting relationship with the Lord, who knows far more than we do about the best timing for all things.

Both of these responses would’ve been dangerous for Nehemiah and are dangerous for any godly leader to have because we may not only miss the answer to our prayer, but we also miss the growth that comes from moving forward in faith.

God uses seasons of waiting to refine our hearts, build endurance, and increase our dependence on Him. When we walk away too early, we rob ourselves of the spiritual growth that God has for us.

One Pastor says this… “God’s delays are not delays of inactivity, but they are delays for preparation” (Repeat)

The Psalmist says…

Psalm 27:14 “14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

Nehemiah was Balanced in Patience…

He was also Balanced in…

2. Answering Authority

Just as every follower of Christ is to be a godly leader (because we are always leading someone), it is also true that even as godly leaders, we will be under some form of human authority.

For Nehemiah, it was the Persian King… For us, it could be our boss, our law enforcement, a Pastor… it could even be the person that leads the Bible Study that you are involved in.

Whoever the human authority is that we are subject to, we must answer or respond to them in a way that honors God.

Nehemiah shows wisdom and balance as he submits to the will of God and also to human authority…

The King asks in v.2 “… Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart...”

Nehemiah answers this question… first of all…

2.1 Respectfully

If you’d like, you can also add “respectfully and with great restraint”.

Nehemiah says in v.3

Nehemiah 2:3 “...May the king live forever!...”

Some right this off as a formality, but I believe that Nehemiah had a close relationship with King Artaxerxes and he truly was wishing him good health and a long life.

Which in and of itself speaks to Nehemiah’s respect towards Artaxerxes… remember, the project that Nehemiah was burdened about had been started years before, but it was Artaxerxes that stopped it… and yet Nehemiah doesn’t fly off the handle… he doesn’t freak out on Artaxerxes and say… “You want to know why I am sad and depressed…ART!!???... oh, I’ll tell you why I am depressed and look the way I do… ”

When someone in authority is keeping us from doing something that we really want to do, we have a tendency to respond by flying off the handle—getting frustrated, angry, or even rebellious. Instead of calmly assessing the situation, we often let our emotions take over, as if the roadblock is an attack on our freedom…

As godly leaders, we should never respond in this way because it not only hurts our credibility, but it also gives people the wrong view of God. Instead of reflecting His character, we show others a distorted image of who God is—someone who is easily angered or frustrated. Our actions should point people to His love and wisdom, not create confusion or mislead them about His nature.

Nehemiah also answers the Kings question…

2.2 Truthfully

Some people, when confronted by authority, resort to lying in an attempt to avoid consequences, shift blame, or manipulate the situation to their advantage. Rather than facing the truth and dealing with the issue honestly, they rely on deception to escape responsibility.

This was not true of Nehemiah and cannot be true of any godly leader. We need to be truthful, even when honesty is difficult or uncomfortable.

Look at how Nehemiah answers the King in v.3…

Nehemiah 2:3–5 “... Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”

Again… he doesn’t fly off the handle… but instead, he finds common ground with the King… You see, if you were to do a study of Persian History, you would find that the ancestral burial grounds of the Persians were highly respected and very well cared for.

Nehemiah knows this and uses it to shed light as to why he is discouraged… … I need to point out that he was not trying to be deceitful or manipulative in any way. He was just sharing the facts with King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah may have used a bit of tactfulness in his conversation, but he never tried to hide his true intentions from Artaxerxes.

Honesty should be a distinctive feature of any godly leader.

Next… Nehemiah answered authority…

2.3 Prayerfully

v.4 “Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.”

This was one of those times where a quick shot to heaven is permitted... I realize that we are not able to throw out a 5, 10, 15, 20 minute… an hour prayer every time that we pray, but what matters most is the sincerity of our heart, not the length of our words. Sometimes a short, honest prayer can be just as powerful as a long one.

It’s not about how much time we spend in prayer, but about our genuine connection with God, our willingness to seek Him, and our openness to His will in every moment—whether in a quick prayer for discernment or a deeper time of intercession.

Prayers don’t need to be long in order to be effective.

Nehemiah answered authority respectfully, truthfully, prayerfully and…

2.4 Knowledgeably

During the 4-5 months that Nehemiah was Patiently waiting and praying, he was also figuring out exactly what he would need for the project. That is evident in the next few verses…

Nehemiah 2:5–8 “5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”

6 Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

7 Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah,

8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.”

In Chapter 1, Nehemiah had no clue what it would take to complete the project. But now that he has had time to prepare, he was able to give King Artaxerxes a knowledgeable answer to his question.

Nehemiah knew...

before anything could happen, he needed the Kings permission. Starting with permission to take time off from his palace duties.

how long he would be gone… v.6 “Then the king said to me… “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.”

he needed proper documentation in order to pass through certain areas to get back to Jerusalem as stated in v.7… … This is like prepping for an out of country trip, you cannot just jump on any ole airplane and go to Africa… you need a ticket, you need a passport… you need to have record of certain shots… you need the proper documentation.

he would need tools and materials to accomplish the job… which he asks for in v.8.

And after King Artaxerxes granted all of his requests…

Nehemiah knew that it was God who had made it all possible… “And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.”

We have to make sure that we give credit where credit is due. Yes, Nehemiah did his homework, but it was God who softened the heart of this pagan King to grant the Nehemiah’s request…

And just to prove that you cannot out-give God… In His Sovereignty, God gave Nehemiah even more than what he asked for… v.9 says…

Nehemiah 2:9 “9 Then I went to the governors in the region beyond the River, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.” A regiment of soldiers that Nehemiah never asked for, just to make sure he was able to make the journey safely.

Lastly today…

Nehemiah was balanced in…

3. Responding to Opposition

Very quickly look at v.10…

Nehemiah 2:10 “When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard of it, they were deeply disturbed that a man had come to seek the well-being of the children of Israel.”

This will come into play later on in our study… but let me say this…

When you make the decision to follow the will of God in your life, you can be certain that opposition will come… .. why??… because Satan does not want us to be used by God. Satan wants you to sit back, go through the motions, go to church on Sunday and get your check mark, talk about your faith and relationship with God with other Christians… but don’t do much more than that…

When we start sharing our faith with our non-believing family members, friends or neighbors… when we start to mess with Satan’s plan to keep these people in spiritual darkness… then he is going to try and stop us in any way that he can.

With that in mind, if you know that you are doing what God wants you to do and you are doing it in a way that honors Him… then when you face opposition, don’t right away take that as a sign that you are doing something wrong… it very well could be confirmation that you are doing something right.

Nehemiah didn’t completely ignore his enemies, but he also didn’t allow them to distract him from doing what God burdened him to do.

Closing:

Nehemiah lived a balanced life and as godly leaders we need to as well…

As we wait patiently on the Lord, let us remember that His timing is perfect, even when it seems slow to us. In the waiting, He is working—preparing our hearts, shaping our character, and aligning circumstances for His greater purpose. Trust in His wisdom, hold fast to His promises, and know that waiting on Him is never in vain. In due time, He will fulfill His plans, and they will be far greater than anything we could have imagined on our own.

As we Answer Authority - Keep in mind that how we respond to those in authority over us is a direct reflection of how we truly respond to our Ultimate Divine Authority

And as we face Opposition - May we use it as another opportunity to share God’s love and His gospel with our opposers… and may we also remember that when we follow God’s leading in our lives, He will bless us with more than we could ever ask for…

Prayer:

Jehovah Jireh - The LORD Who Provides - us with

Patience

Answers to Authority

and You help us to respond to opposition

May we rely on Your provisions as we become the godly leaders You want us to be.