NEW MERCIES DAILY!
DAY 4: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 2025
TITLE: The First to Rise, The First to Bleed
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept. I mourned for many days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
—Nehemiah 1:4
BY: EFFIONG ETOK
Carrier of God’s Word
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
The weight of rising first is that you often rebuild with tears what others destroyed with carelessness.
MESSAGE:
Why does it seem like the first to rise always bleeds the most?
Why does the one carrying the burden of restoration often feel the loneliest?
Because elevation begins with brokenness, and for those called to rise first, that brokenness is often born in silence.
Nehemiah wasn’t born into royalty or prophetic bloodlines.
He was just a cupbearer-quiet, forgotten-yet he carried a burden others ignored.
While others adapted to ruins, Nehemiah wept over them.
His heart broke for what others had learned to live with.
He didn’t sin. He didn’t fight for a throne.
He simply saw what was broken… and couldn’t look away.
He wept. He fasted. He prayed.
And then he rose-to rebuild what generations before him allowed to collapse.
But here’s what they don’t tell you about Nehemiah:
He bled in the process.
He faced mockers like Sanballat and Tobiah-enemies who hated the idea of restoration.
He faced betrayal from within-nobles who refused to help.
He worked with one hand and defended himself with the other.
He led while exhausted, and rebuilt while dodging invisible arrows.
He didn’t just build walls-he carried generations of trauma on his shoulders.
He became the answer to prayers that weren’t even his own.
He rose when no one else would.
He stood while others bowed to comfort.
He bled, not because he was weak-but because restorers always pay for what others wasted.
Maybe that’s you.
Maybe you’re rebuilding your family’s peace, health, faith, or dignity.
And you’re bleeding. Quietly. Faithfully. Alone.
But hear this:
You were chosen to rise-because heaven knew you wouldn’t abandon the ruins.
And if you’re the first to rise, you were heaven’s first answer to a generational cry.
TAKEAWAY STATEMENT:
You didn’t just notice the ruins-you were sent to restore them. If you’re bleeding while rising, it’s proof you’re building something hell can’t ignore.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Father, thank You for trusting me with what others ignored. Even when the work is heavy and the wounds are hidden, give me grace to keep building-faithfully, in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!
2. Lord, silence every enemy, every fear, and every sabotage rising against my calling as a rebuilder, in Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen!
