Git-R-Done

Nehemiah 13:23-31

 

 

Daniel Lawrence Whitney, aka “Larry the Cable Guy”, has made a career out of his character with his signature saying of “Git-R-Done”. Larry the Cable Guy is a stage character with blue color routes and a strong southern drawl. He is the kind of guy that, well… gets her done.

 

Nehemiah was that kind of guy too. We have read throughout chapter 13 about many decisions that he made that no doubt made him an unpopular guy, but he accomplished God’s vision. In today’s passage he confronts the issue of parents allowing their sons and daughters to marry outside of the faith. And he does so in a violent manner by cursing them, beating on them and pulling their hair out.

 

Why did he do these things? Why was he so passionate about these laws? We get some insight into this question in the final sentence of the book when he says, “Remember me with favor, my God”. This is a phrase that he repeated three times in chapter 13.

 

Nehemiah is passionate about the Lord and His Word; He is passionate about being faithful to the Living God; He is passionate about the sovereign God of Israel; because he wants God’s favor.

 

Jesus spoke of this also when he told the parable of the bags of gold. The master gave one servant five bags, another two and another one. The two servants who invested their gold received praise and affirmation from the master as he said to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

 

Jesus himself received his Father’s affirmation following his baptism when God said, “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”. Personalize this by putting your own name at the beginning of the statement: Joe, you are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.

 

Don’t we all desire that same affirmation from our Heavenly Father? Unconditional love that affirms how much we mean to Him; how much He desires us to be with Him; how much He wants us to be faithful to Him.

 

Therefore, let’s keep our ears and eyes open for opportunities to be faithful to Our Lord. And when they present themselves maybe, just maybe, we’ll hear God say to us, “Git-R-Done”.