But after they had rest...

The book of Nehemiah (and it's companion Ezra) focus on the Jewish people rebuilding the temple after returning from exile. Without digging into all of the historical details here, let us focus on Chapter 9, where Nehemiah is pleading to God for forgiveness for the entire nation. In verse 28 (KJV), he says,

But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the land of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies.

This is a summary of the Jewish peoples' dealings with God, but it's also a very accurate summary of our dealings with God. How many times do we plead with God for relief from some trouble? And then when he provides that relief, how many times do we once again become spiritually lax? And then the whole cycle repeats, with God again providing relief, and us again letting our guard down.

I wish it were easy to break that cycle. Even Paul, in his many letters, hints at the difficulty of breaking that cycle. I certainly don't have wise thoughts on how to break the cycle. Perhaps the main lesson is this: God is very merciful, and we need to be grateful for that mercy. Because we don't seem to deserve it.