Nehemiah 6:15–19 ‘When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realised that this work had been done with the help of our God.’ (v16)
After fifty-two days of prayer, hard work and overcoming the enemy’s deception, the wall was completed. Fifty-two days.
The walls had been left in ruins for seventy years and yet the city was transformed in a matter of days.
The Jewish remnant who had stayed behind in the city had become accustomed to things as they were, making no effort to bring change.
But Nehemiah, moved by the Spirit of God, brought resources, vision and leadership. It is an incredible story of the transformative power that God-centred leadership can bring to a community.
Our villages, towns and cities are broken. Maybe our physical walls are not in ruins, but individual lives and political structures are.
Families are broken. Communities are disconnected. Many people in our nations are living in a season of hopelessness.
What will it take for us to be moved by the needs in our neighbourhood, to bring God-centred leadership? To speak up for the silenced, to stand up for the weak?
The story of Nehemiah is a story that needs repeating in every generation and in every location.
God always works through people who are simply willing, who will say, ‘Here I am, send me.’
People who seemingly have nothing to offer, apart from their availability and a holy discontent that what is being experienced by those around them is no longer acceptable. Maybe that person is you?
A Prayer To Make:
‘Lord, thank You for the story of Nehemiah. Stir me into action. Help me see the need that I have become accustomed to. Use me for Your purposes, I pray. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
Pray. Is there something happening in your world right now that is causing you ‘holy discontent’? Ask God to give you insight into what He may be asking you to do about it.
Scripture To Consider:
Isa. 6:1–8 & 58:6–10; Heb. 13:15–16; Jas 2:14–26
