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Day 126, or May the 6th. We're all fine, really. Our thoughts today come from Nehemiah

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chapter 2, verse 2. So the king asked me, Why does your face look so sad, when you are

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not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart. I was very much afraid.

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Now the big picture surrounding this verse. Shortly after the returns to Israel led by

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Zerubbabel and Ezra, Nehemiah arrived from Persia. His task was to build a secure wall

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around Jerusalem. The king, who approved his mission, was probably the stepson of Queen

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Esther, who has a Bible book named after her. She was a lady of great influence, and as

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a Jew she would have been very supportive of such a project.

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Nehemiah left a secure influential post as the king's wine taster. Tradition has it

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that the king's father had been killed with poisoned wine, and therefore having someone

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to taste his wine was a sensible precaution. Having regular contact with the king made

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Nehemiah part of the establishment, and therefore less likely to leave to build a wall. God,

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however, had different ideas.

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And now today's action step.

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When most of us are asked, How are you today? we respond with a smile, and, Fine, thank

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you. After all, why would you tell anyone how you really felt? If you did that, there

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is a distinct possibility that they would never inquire after your health again. When

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Nehemiah was sad, he looked it. When the king inquired why he was looking so sad, he told

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him. Pretty obvious that neither of them were Brits. Of course, pouring out your soul every

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time anyone inquires about you is not the answer, but most of us go to the opposite

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extreme. My wife is good at seeing through the veneer of a faint smile, but I am not.

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I think our world would be a better place if there were more honesty, but don't overreact,

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otherwise the art of conversation will die as we all counsel each other to death. However,

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hiding behind personal veneers can become a way of life if we're not careful. Watch

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that barrier today.