Nehemiah 4:21–23 ‘Let every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so that they can serve us as guards by night and as workers by day.’ (v22)
The motto created by Lord Baden-Powell for the Scout’s movement was ‘Be prepared’. It was the idea that from a young age, Scouts would learn to survive and thrive, wherever they might find themselves.
That they would be able to tie knots, make a shelter, stay safe and know what a woggle was and how it should be used.
For most adults today we are less likely to carry a Swiss army knife just in case we need to open a tin of beans.
We also might get into trouble for carrying a knife in a public space. But in the time of Nehemiah, they had to be prepared night and day for an enemy that might attack when they were not expecting it.
Night and day. To manage this situation, Nehemiah split his teams into two, some would work while others would sleep.
It must have slowed down the work considerably and created a lot of tired people, but because there was so much uncertainty there seemed little option.
In our Christian life some of the sneaky enemy attacks that we talked about earlier, happen both in the day and in the night.
In fact, some of the most challenging times can be those small hours of the morning when fear creeps in.
Many times I have lain awake night, worrying about something that in the morning seems insignificant, but it still gave me disturbed sleep and now I have to navigate a full day whilst tired. We need to be prepared to push back against the enemy’s scheming, night and day.
A Prayer To Make:
‘Lord, thank You that You promise to send Your angels to watch over us night and day. May we regularly sleep well without disturbance ready for the day ahead. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
Create a night-time routine if you don’t have one already. Pray over the place where you sleep. Read Scripture and thank God for the angels He sends to look over us while we sleep.
Scripture To Consider:
Gen. 1:1–31; Matt. 13:24–30; Rom. 13:11–14; 1 Thess. 5:1–11
