A Ruler After God's Heart

UV 1797/10000 A Ruler After God’s Heart
That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
Nehemiah 7 v 2

People who fear God are likely to be wise rulers. They will have the heart of a servant and shepherd and remain humble and diligent. Their faithfulness to God will keep them from being either negligent or corrupt. They would certainly render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, to the people what belongs to them and to God what belongs to God. It is not the most capable or efficient who make the best administrators and rulers but the most faithful ones for the Lord would endow them with wisdom, knowledge, understanding, insight and common sense. Hanani and Hananiah were earlier in charge of the palace and had proved themselves faithful in a smaller responsibility. Hence, they found favour with Nehemiah to be given the greater responsibility of leading and managing the city of Jerusalem.
Those who are faithful to the Lord are invested with a spirit of excellence as Daniel and his three friends were in the empire of Babylon. The Lord exalts those who love and honour Him above many others who may be naturally more gifted or capable. He sees our faithfulness in lesser matters and gradually increases our influence and responsibility. He is a king who uses broken and weak vessels. He qualifies the unqualified. He has no uses for the proud, arrogant and wicked. But He honours and exalts the meek and faithful. He allows the stone that the wicked roll to roll back on them. He allows them to fall in the pit they dig for the godly and God-fearing.

The Lord desires that rulers not only be law-abiding but God-abiding. Once they have a personal relationship with the Lord, He gives them the grace or enablement to more than fulfil the needs and expectations of their position or responsibility. Faith gives God-fearing rulers the confidence and hope that they will succeed in whatever they do. Faith imparts a sense of vision and infuses deep values in leaders. It teaches them to learn from others, learn from their failures and from the mistakes of others. It keeps them from acting with a sense of selfish ambition or self interest. They would not be egoistic. They would always act out of public interest and remain transparent and accountable to God and man for all their actions in the public domain.


Prateep V Philip