City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“‘Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome…’”

Nehemiah 4:14

“…Those who carried 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

“So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, ‘Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.’ Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.”

Nehemiah 4:21-23

“When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.”

Nehemiah 6:16

Exegesis

The re-building of the wall of Jerusalem was a difficult enough task in and of itself. Add to the mix not just hecklers, but potential plunderers and murderers. Why was the wall so important the Israelites risked their lives for it? A fallen wall symbolized an unprotected and defeated people. After seventy years of captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah wanted to show the world God had not abandoned the Israelites.  

Faced with inexperienced workers, the nobles exploiting their poor brethren, and outside threats, Nehemiah, at any time, could have given up on the project and ran back to his day job. He refused to let the haters get him down, literally and figuratively. He told the people to not be afraid, and practiced what he preached. But he did not ignore the dangers. Everybody had a tool to build and a weapon to protect. Half of the workers were put on guard duty and some were given the night shift. Despite less workers and more worries, the wall was finished in fifty-two days. And the outside enemies were silenced.

Application

What has God called you to? What is holding you back? Lack of focus? Fear? Maybe both? Do what Nehemiah did: pray beforehand, gather resources, assess the situation, remind yourself why you are pursuing your goal, prepare for the absolute worst (in the small chance that happens), and remember who God is.

And do not be afraid.  

Prayer

Lord, You are great and You are awesome. Please help me to be focused and unafraid when fulfilling Your calling. When problems arise, remind me of who You are. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.