Maybe you feel like you’ve let God down. You know that He expects you to love Him and love other people, but in your heart of hearts you know you’re more interested in your own desires. Maybe you just can’t imagine that God would ever love you or be gracious to you.

Today’s passage reminds us that God’s grace isn’t just for people like David who were trying to love and serve Him. It isn’t just for people like those who prayed this prayer, the people of Nehemiah’s time, who had just finished rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem so that God’s temple and those who worship there would be safe. God isn’t just gracious to those who deserve His love.

No, in today’s passage we’re reminded that God never gave up on His people during the time after He led them out of Egypt, even though they turned away from Him time after time, even though they continued to doubt His love and His power. No matter how unfaithful they were, God continued to rain manna from Heaven on them, and continued to lead them by a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

And why did God do all these things? Not because the people were faithful, but because God is faithful. Not because the people were loving, but because God is loving.

Sure, we’ve all let God down. But the good news is that God continues to be faithful to His promises today, promises to forgive and to welcome all those who come to Christ in faith. So let’s all do what the people did as they offered this prayer – let’s confess our sins and throw ourselves on the mercy of our merciful God. For we can be confident that He is Who He says He is: gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in faithful, covenant-keeping love. He will not forsake us.

Nehemiah 9:16-21 (ESV)

16 “But they and our fathers acted presumptuously and stiffened their neck and did not obey your commandments.
17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
18 Even when they had made for themselves a golden calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies,
19 you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of cloud to lead them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night to light for them the way by which they should go.
20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.
21 Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.