如何面对困难
尼希米记五章1至13节
1百姓和他们的妻大大呼号，埋怨他们的弟兄犹大人。
2有的说：我们和儿女人口众多，要去得粮食度命；
3有的说：我们典了田地、葡萄园、房屋，要得粮食充饥；
4有的说：我们已经指着田地、葡萄园，借了钱给王纳税。
5我们的身体与我们弟兄的身体一样；我们的儿女与他们的儿女一般。现在我们将要使儿女作人的仆婢，我们的女儿已有为婢的；我们并无力拯救，因为我们的田地、葡萄园已经归了别人。
6我听见他们呼号说这些话，便甚发怒。
7我心里筹划，就斥责贵胄和官长说：你们各人向弟兄取利！于是我招聚大会攻击他们。
8我对他们说：我们尽力赎回我们弟兄，就是卖与外邦的犹大人；你们还要卖弟兄，使我们赎回来么？他们就静默不语，无话可答。
9我又说：你们所行的不善！你们行事不当敬畏我们的神么？不然，难免我们的仇敌外邦人毁谤我们。
10我和我的弟兄与仆人也将银钱粮食借给百姓；我们大家都当免去利息。
11如今我劝你们将他们的田地、葡萄园、橄榄园、房屋，并向他们所取的银钱、粮食、新酒，和油，百分之一的利息都归还他们。
12众人说：我们必归还，不再向他们索要，必照你的话行。我就召了祭司来，叫众人起誓，必照着所应许的而行。
13我也抖着胸前的衣襟，说：凡不成就这应许的，愿神照样抖他离开家产和他劳碌得来的，直到抖空了。会众都说：阿们！又赞美耶和华。百姓就照着所应许的去行。
信息分享
第一班人说他们的家人没有足够的粮食；第二班人说他们已典当了田地来换取粮食；第三班人则说他们是靠借钱来购买粮食，更要为此而付出极高的利息。这些彼此抱怨的人，都是犹太人；因此，当尼希米听见同胞这样互相争吵，令他感到极其悲愤和心痛。同样地，教会中的信徒出现纷争，不单对整体教会的伤害最大，对教外的人也是最坏的见证。
互相抱怨还会带来甚么影响呢？就是停止了修建城墙的工作。当人出现不和的时候，就难有合作的可能，做任何工作也难有进展。
对于他们当中的有钱人这样欺压同胞，尼希米感到非常气忿。他如何处理呢？他首先坐下来，深入去剖析整个问题。有些问题他知道自己无法解决，但有些事情他却可以去干涉。例如，那些欺压同胞的方式，是违背神的律法的，他可以去斥责做这事的人。我们在第10至11节，便看见尼希米如何义正词严地指出他们的错误。
被指责的人自知理亏，所以便无言以对，但他们却愿意悔改，将本息归还。他们虽然为此而付出代价，却因着尼希米的训斥而遵从了神的教导。
尼希米为何敢于直言呢？其中一个原因，是因为他本身的正直清廉，绝不会剥削百姓。
我们可以从这件事例中学到一个功课，就是当问题出现的时候，我们一定要抚心自问，看清楚自己在神面前有没有过犯。我们必须先正身，然后才能正人和解决问题。
尼希米因为凡事向神说「是」，所以才能向罪说「不」。这岂不是我们的最佳榜样吗？
HOW DO YOU FACE PROBLEMS?
Nehemiah 5:1-13
1 And there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brethren.
2 For there were those who said, “We, our sons, and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain, that we may eat and live.”
3 There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine.”
4 There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards.
5 Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.”
6 And I became very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
7 After serious thought, I rebuked the nobles and rulers, and said to them, “Each of you is exacting usury from his brother.” So I called a great assembly against them.
8 And I said to them, “According to our ability we have redeemed our Jewish brethren who were sold to the nations. Now indeed, will you even sell your brethren? Or should they be sold to us?”
Then they were silenced and found nothing to say.
9 Then I said, “What you are doing is not good. Should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?
10 I also, with my brethren and my servants, am lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop this usury!
11 Restore now to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also a hundredth of the money and the grain, the new wine and the oil, that you have charged them.”
12 So they said, “We will restore it, and will require nothing from them; we will do as you say.”
Then I called the priests, and required an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.
13 Then I shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out each man from his house, and from his property, who does not perform this promise. Even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.”
And all the assembly said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise.
Message
The first group said they didn't have enough food. The second group said they had to give away their land in order to get food. The third group said they had to borrow money to buy food and were paying too high a rate of interest for it. It was all between members of the Jewish Community, the people of God and that is what hurt Nehemiah the most. Trouble inside a church always hurts the whole church and gives a poor witness to those outside.
What other result was there? The work on the walls stopped. There could be no progress, no co-operation while this trouble was going on.
Nehemiah was angry inside, over what some of the rich people were doing to the poorer people. What did he do? He sat down and thought about the problem. There were some things he couldn't do much about, but there were some things that he could. There were men who were breaking God's laws for his people and that was what Nehemiah could speak against. Nehemiah said bluntly, 'It's got to stop' (v.10-11).
The men concerned knew they were wrong. They had no answer for Nehemiah. But they did make a great response. It cost them something, but they were obedient to God's word through Nehemiah.
How could Nehemiah speak like this? One reason was his own integrity. He was not involved in any way with what the others were doing.
One of the most important things we can do when problems arise is to make sure that we ourselves are right before God that we are living as he would have us live. That kind of example is hard to speak against.
Nehemiah said 'No' to sin because he said 'Yes' to God. Can we do anything less?