When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews . . . So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart. Nehemiah 1, 6, NIV.
Holy Father, we thank You for encouraging us to be builders. Please enable us to do Your will even in the midst of discouragement. In the name of Jesus Christ we humbly pray. Amen.
On August 29, our devotional was also about re- building, the walls of Jerusalem, but from quite a different angle. On that occasion we spoke about re-building the covenant we have with God. Today, our focus is going to be how to deal with discouragement and still get the work done. I believe all of us can appreciate the fact that working with discouraging people, or in an atmosphere of discouragement is not easy. In the first place, the act of building is quite an undertaking, in every way. The responsibility of erecting an edifice that is safe for all who enter, or inhabit it, is huge. Every detail must be taken into consideration. There is need for precision in measurements. Materials must be selected according to the use that each will be given. Height, depth, and width, are important for comfort. And of course, we cannot overlook aesthetics. We want our constructions to be attractive as well as safe.
Now add to all of this, the cost of materials and the cost of labor. Included in the cost of labor is insurance for the laborers. If a laborer is injured while he or she is working, they must be compensated. Just imagine now, that the prophet Nehemiah is acting as leader of the construction. He is responsible for seeing that all that we have just mentioned (though not in the way that it is done in our day), is taken care of, and at the same time, he must help the workers upon the walls to resist the taunts of those who are opposed to the re-building of the walls! He is prophet, leader, and motivator! That is no ordinary feat. The wonderful news is, that under his leadership, the people finished the work!
What do you think was the ingredient that guaranteed victory over discouragement of both leader and workers, and enabled them to get the job done? The text tells us that “the people worked with all their heart.” I would venture to say that the people were “following the leader.” When Sanballat shouted, ” ‘ “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are” ‘ ” (2)? And Tobiah responded, ” ‘ “What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones” ‘ ” (3)[,] Nehemiah prayed to the LORD their God (4, 5); and so did the people (9).
Today, God is calling all of us to repair some of the broken walls in society: Walls of Morality, of Ethics, of Justice! This will make us the target of those who are against “repairers of broken walls.” But like the builders in Nehemiah’s day, we must do this work with all our heart! Do not become distracted. Just keep on building! We owe it to our families! We owe it to those who cannot fight for themselves! We owe it to “the least of these” (Matthew 25: 40, 45) in our society. So do not listen to their words of discouragement. Hear the Word of the LORD: “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes” (14b), and work with all [your] heart! By God’s grace we will get the job done.