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Verse:Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer. —Romans 12:11, 12, KJV
Picture Jerusalem in 457 B.C. Our hero, Nehemiah, has a burden to rebuild the walls of the city of David. The burden on his heart is so great that it shows on his countenance when he, a Hebrew captive and the Persian king’s cupbearer, goes in to serve King Artaxerxes. The king asks the reason for his sadness, and Nehemiah offers a silent prayer and explains his problem. Because he has found favor with the king, Nehemiah is granted leave and given official letters of support and provision to take with him to begin his God-appointed task.
Nehemiah arrives in Jerusalem to find a daunting task ahead of him. Not only do neighboring enemies threaten to invade, but internal dissension among the Hebrews also surfaces. Nehemiah could throw his hands up in the air and go back to the palace in Persia. Instead, he prays. With God’s help, he begins the task.
The Bible says that Nehemiah assigned sections of the broken walls to various families and groups to rebuild. When threats came, the people prayed and armed themselves with swords in one hand and tools in the other. Little by little, because “the people had a mind to work,” the wall was rebuilt (Nehemiah 4:6, KJV).
Likewise, we are to occupy ourselves with the building up of God’s kingdom until He puts us to sleep or comes for us in clouds of glory. It is hard work because sometimes God calls us to do tasks that are, for one reason or another, downright difficult. Sometimes I want to throw my hands up in the air and say, “Enough! There is more to life than teaching people who have no interest in learning—and under less than ideal conditions.”
Yet I have a choice—we each have a choice. We have the choice to (1) run away as Jonah did (Jonah 1:3); (2) make excuses as to why we are not qualified as Jeremiah first did (Jeremiah 1:6); or (3) gird our minds with prayer and the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) to face the task with faithfulness and confidence as Nehemiah did. We can believe, as he did, that God is with us and will strengthen us to fulfill our goals. We can believe that for each task and each willing, imperfect hand, God will equip and perfect. Oh, that the world had more Nehemiahs!
Greta Michelle Joachim-Fox-Dyett.