Building like Nehemiah

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When the Israelites were in captivity, the walls of Jerusalem had been broken down into rubble. The very city that held the presence of God was in pieces and the walls were just piles of stones. Even when the Israelites began going back to live there. When Nehemiah heard this, he was cupbearer to the king of Persia and his heart was troubled. He knew that he needed to do something and so the king gave him permission to fix the wall.

Clearly, fixing the wall was something that God had called him to do. The way we know this is because his passion to do so was arisen in him and he sought God in every turn. In just a short while (versus what most people had expected), Nehemiah and the people of Israel completed rebuilding the wall -- accomplishing the task that God had called him to.

This is the perfect story of being called into service by God, the realities of service and the attitude and approach we should have in service. Here are some of the learnings I took out of this:

• Pray at every turn: From the very beginning when he talked to Artaxerxes about building the walls, he prayed to God before each step. This was clearly not about him, but about what God was leading him to do. How many times do we start projects because of a calling of God, but once we get into them, we make our own decisions and take it on ourselves to complete it. Too many in my case.
• Seek willing help with the same heart: The rebuilding of the wall was a tremendous task. Nehemiah knew that without others who were committed to the effort, it would never get done. So, he went out with his plans to the leaders and officials of the people and gave each family part of the wall to build. Sometimes I find myself in the middle of a calling by God trying to do everything myself and not asking others to step in and help. If it’s God’s calling, he will provide the resources to help, we must be prepared to ask.
• Be prepared for opposition: Whenever people step up to God’s calling, Satan does all he can to oppose the work. In Nehemiah’s case, the rebuilding of the wall incensed the neighboring people. So much that they threatened to attack them and murder Nehemiah. When the people heard about this they became discouraged. The work was already hard, and now there were threats on their lives. But Nehemiah knew that God was in control so he set up the people to provide defensive protection for the work. He told them not to be afraid, but to “remember the Lord, who is great and awesome”. I love this description of what they did: “Those who carred materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked” (Nehemiah 4:17-18). The truth is, if we serve God, we need to we need to be constantly armed against the work of Satan which will inevitably try to frustrate it. We cannot allow ourselves to become discouraged no matter what battles we have to face and “remember the Lord” in all things.

Nehemiah had lots of tools and lots of people working with him to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, but the most important tool was his trust and commitment to God regardless of the challenge.

What walls are you trying to build for God? Make sure to carry Him in your tool belt.

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Renewing Your Strength

For more information, please visit www.kohath.org.

I don't know about you, but in recent days I have been feeling just simply worn out! You know, the feeling... hours and days pass by with a continuing list of "to-do's" that never seem to get done. Everything including my personal devotional time and efforts for God become cumbersome... like pushing a big boulder up a hill. Absolutely nothing seems to go smoothly, and I find myself weary and wanting to simply give up. Are you with me?

During these times, it's easy say, "well, that's life" and just try to suffer through it, but the Bible tells us life shouldn't be that way for us. Actually, the Bible gives us a clear prescription for "renewed strength" and all we have to do is follow it to the letter.

"...but those who hope in the LORD

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)

Oooh! Renewed strength, soaring like eagles, running and walking without getting weary or faint -- that's just what I need, but what do I have to do to experience those? The passage is clear: HOPE in the LORD.

But what does it mean to "HOPE in the LORD". Other Bible Translations describe it in these ways: "wait on the Lord", "trust in the Lord", "look for the Lord", "expect the Lord [to act]", etc. In other words, to find the renewed strength we desire it's very simple. We need to let go of whatever boulder we think we're in charge of and surrender it completely to God. Not in part, not in words only, but completely.

The truth is, the boulders we push are not organic... they're made by our own two hands. We can make boulders out of all kinds of things including our jobs, our children, our relationships, our church programs and yes, even our spiritual life. But the Bible says that if we surrender them to God and earnestly seek his will through prayer and fasting, he will relieve our burdens and renew our strength.

So, if you.. like me... have been carrying some heavy boulders recently, I hope you too will surrender them to God today.

Prayer:

Lord, I'm am so weary. I have been trying so hard control things in my life especially around ________________. I realize that only you are truly in control of this situation and that only you can bring peace in the midst of it. I surrender this situation totally to you today, Lord, and I just pray that you would be glorified in and through it. Guide me in the path you would have me go, and renew my strength in you.

In Jesus' name. Amen.

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