But
we PRAYED to our God and POSTED A GUARD day and night to meet this threat
(Nehemiah 4:9).
The
context was the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Under great threat from murderous
neighbors, Nehemiah mobilized God’s people in two individually necessary and
mutually indispensable ways.
(1) He had them pray – dependence on God.
Constant
recognition of our dependence on God is the first step towards finding the
purpose of our lives and calling. But it is not just the recognition; it has to
be accompanied by intentional acts
that place our whole beings before Him – body, soul, mind, spirit and strength
– on a consistent basis. Prayer, meditation, turning God’s Word over and over
in our minds, speaking to God about our problems, thoughts, desires, joys and
pains as though He is with us and He can hear us. Because He is and He can!
As a
caring brother and a fellow struggler, let me ask you this question as gently
as I can. How are you doing in this area? How is your prayer life, if you were
to be honest before God? I have had to ask for forgiveness as I type this while
reflecting on the verse above.
(2) He equipped them to carry on with the
task at hand – they did their part.
Doing
my part. This is not easy either. Doing my part doesn’t mean doing just what I
enjoy doing or what I feel like doing. Thank God many times it involves exactly
that. In Nehemiah’s context, it included rebuilding walls and building
structures. That is very hard work, as anyone who has been involved in
construction will tell you. I have done it. I even drove a nail through my left
hand with a nail gun once. I did the work because it had to be done, not
because I looked forward to it or even enjoyed it. There is a reward at the end
as you see the finished product. There is some positive pride and satisfaction
that are evidently there when you can look at a house and say, “I helped build
that!” But the process can be painful,
sometimes literally!
Again,
I have a question for myself, and since you’re reading this, for you as well.
What sacrifices are you making now that will make it possible for you to admire
the finished product at the end? Are you taking the pains to do what it takes,
for example, to learn God’s Word for your own sake and for the sake of those
around you? No, it is not just what it takes; sometimes it is whatever it takes. What are you building
for the Lord?
We
prayed and posted guard day and night.
Elsewhere, God’s Word gives us this promise, “For the eyes of
the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts
are fully committed to Him” (2 chronicles 16:9). And with Fanny Crosby (1868),
I offer this plea to God:
Pass
me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear
my humble cry;
While
on others Thou art calling,
Do
not pass me by.