“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses.” (Neh. 1:8)
Expanded Passage: Nehemiah 1:1-11
Think of the last wedding you attended, or, if you’re married, think back to your own. What do you remember? The beautiful gown? The flower girl who refused to walk down the aisle at the last minute? The father-daughter dance? The horrible bridesmaid dresses? Nostalgia for the ceremony or even the reception can be a pleasurable experience, but the vows spoken by the bride and groom to each other are the only essential items to recall. During those times when the husband or wife wants to storm out on the other, it is the vows—more than the emotion of love, which seems to disappear in heated moments—that have the power to keep the couple glued together. “You promised . . .” is a powerful phrase.
Thankfully, God’s promises to us are far more powerful and dependable than even our most sacred vows. When Nehemiah realized that God was punishing the people for turning away from him, he remembered what God said: “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them” (Neh. 1:9).
When we recognize that we have turned away from God, we are never too far gone to be welcomed back into his grace.
Find one of God’s promises that is meaningful to you, and memorize it.
L. Wilson lives in rural Indiana where he enjoys cycling, yardwork, and reading a wide assortment of books.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
