Getting the Job Done
This morning I attended a memorial service for long-time friend of Debbie’s family, Harold Schwindt. I met Harold and wife (Myrna) and family when Debbie and I were first dating. Harold was a faithful family man and follower of Christ. He died suddenly and unexpectedly in an accident in Minnesota helping his son, as he did each year, with the sugar beet harvest.
This was one of those situations where a man who was alive and well on Sunday was being memorialized and remembered at a service on the following Friday. It was a vivid reminder of the uncertainties of life. I couldn’t help but reflect on my own health crisis and how quickly life as we know it can change. We need to be ready, because we might not have time to “get ready” before our time comes.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “The wall of Jerusalem was completed on the twenty-fifth day of the month of Elul. It took fifty-two days to rebuild. When all our enemies heard about it and all the nations around us saw it, they were shamed. They then understood that the work had been done with the help of our God.” Nehemiah 6:15,16 NCV
The accomplishment of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem is nothing short of a miracle. Not just in getting the job completed but in the time it took the work to be done. We read how that when Nehemiah surveyed the walls there was so much rubble it was discouraging. Have you ever taken on a project where the clutter was so great, you didn’t know where to start? That’s where Nehemiah was with the task of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem.
When we look at the journey from rubble to raising the walls, there are some important lessons that can be applied to our lives. We won’t be called to the type of undertaking Nehemiah was to, but we all face challenges and opportunities that are bigger than we are.
First of all Nehemiah placed himself in a position to be used by the Lord to respond to a need. He heard the news about the condition of the walls and the discouragement of the people and went to prayer before he took any action. He sought the Lord for forgiveness of Israel’s past and present sins and interceded for himself and God’s people. The hallmark of the Nehemiah story is that we see his prayers some recorded and some not throughout the entire process.
Nehemiah received favor from unexpected places. The King listen to his story and responded favorably to his request for help in rebuilding the walls. We need to understand that the resources we need may not be in our hand, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be made available as we trust in the Lord.
Nehemiah had to rally the people to the task and organize them for the work. He called the people to the task at hand with these words,“You can see the trouble we have here. Jerusalem is a pile of ruins, and its gates have been burned. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so we won’t be full of shame any longer….The God of heaven will give us success.” (Neh. 2:17,20 NCV)
Nehemiah organized the people for the task. Each family unit was assigned a gate and portion of the wall to rebuild. A big task broken down into small pieces provided the incentive and progress that was needed to get the job done.
Opposition and challenges plague the process. Nehemiah faced challenges and threats to their success from without and from within. There were those who tried to discourage the work from being critical, to making fun of their work to threatening violence. In each situation Nehemiah turned to the Lord and took practical steps to protect the people and the work they were doing.
Inwardly there were Jews who were without food, they didn’t have money to pay taxes and some of them were oppressing fellow Jews by charging excessive interest. Nehemiah had to address these issues, find solutions and bring correction. He took action by personally responding to some of the needs. “I fed one hundred fifty Jewish people and officers at my table…But I never demanded the food that was due a governor, because the people were already working very hard.” (Neh. 4:17,18 NCV)
Nehemiah faced those who worked to discredit him and his leadership. “They paid him [false prophet] to frighten me so I would…sin. Then they could give me a bad name to shame me.” (Neh. 6:13 NCV) But Nehemiah responded with wisdom and strength and integrity and kept to the task.
The task we are called to, the life we are called to live requires, “Nehemiah-like” faith and fortitude. There may be miraculous favor and provision, but that doesn’t mean a trouble-free, easy road ahead. We need to be ready for the struggles and opposition and face them with prayer and wisdom. We need to trust the Lord to help us complete the task the He called us to start. When that happens the glory goes to the Lord, because all, including ourselves, realize that it happened not because of our wisdom or resources, but because of the Lord making it all possible.