That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.
Nehemiah 1:2
Hanani, one of my brethren
The name, Hanani, means ‘God is Gracious’. He is described [Nehemiah 7:2] as a faithful man, and one who was exceptional in his fear of God. In this verse, he is called a ‘brother’ to Nehemiah. It is unclear whether he was living in Judah or Babylon at the time. However, by chapter 7 he is living in Judah, and Nehemiah promotes him to a place of importance.
What does it mean to be a Faithful person? It means to be Full of Faith. It means to put your dependency totally on God. It means to acknowledge the superiority of God over all your ambitions and decisions. It means to be available for God to use. It means to be always expecting God to speak, and being attentive and anxious to obey. It means to be dependable as a reliable representative of God.
A faithful person is the one you will find regularly reading his Bible, seeking to understand how it relates to himself, and finding Jesus on every page. A faithful person is exemplified as being a person who genuinely prays, waits for God to respond, and humbly accepts God’s answers to his prayers. A faithful person can be depended upon to be in church regularly, coming expecting to meet with God, and get a blessing to carry on his way. A faithful person is probably going to be considered ‘odd’ even by fellow church goers. The decisions he makes will often not make any sense to others. His use of time and resources will be considered a waste. However, his heart will be content, and his conscience clear as he basks in his daily fellowship with Christ. In the last day, he will hear his Savior say, ‘well done, thou good and faithful servant’. Life holds no greater reward than this!
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