Humble Boldness

Nehemiah 2 In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. 2 And the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. 3 I said to the king, “Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” 4 Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it.” 6 And the king said to me (the queen sitting beside him), “How long will you be gone, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. 7 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah,8 and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me."
Nehemiah had been given a burning desire to do something about the plight of Jerusalem.  Two waves of returnees had already gone there to rebuild the temple and repopulate the city, but things were not going all that well. The city was vulnerable and still in disrepair.  He saw a way to help.  He had the connections, but did he have the wisdom and vision that would win the approval of the king?  The bottom line was: "Is God in this?" or "Is it just me?" Sometimes the only way to tell is step forward and humbly, but boldly ask. The approval by the king gave him the answer; it was his go-ahead signal, that this was not just some selfish pipedream, but a call from God to do something. He continued to proceed cautiously, yet confidently, step by step seeking God's direction, and including God's people in what he had been called to do. May we not be afraid of hope and vision, and may we demonstrate bold humility as we obey God's call on our lives.