Nehemiah 4:14-15(NASB) 14When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses." 15When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.
Nehemiah built the walls of Jerusalem in fifty-two days. Of course it wasn’t just Nehemiah. There was an army of folks helping. Each person knew their task, worked on their assigned part of the wall, and was a part of a team. Although they were sure of the task, to build the wall, and even knew the reason, safety and security, they lost sight of these. At the half-way mark, we find Nehemiah reminding the people of "why" they were rebuilding the wall.
The initial euphoria had waned. Enemies were gathering. The nay sayers were hard at work. Ridicule was constant. Nehemiah knew that the hard work and years of oppression was taking its toll on the workers. Even though most things were going well, he knew the importance of rallying the people and reminding them of the "why."
He was not content merely accomplishing the task of rebuilding the wall but he also wanted to encourage and strengthen the people. They needed to be reminded that God was working mightily through them to accomplish what seemed just a few weeks earlier to be impossible.
As Christians we have work hard and we achieve many wonderful things. However, even though most things are going well, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. Why should we continue to give the effort?
We are here to reach the lost. More unchurched people than we will admit live immediately around our location. Many of these people do not know Jesus. We are here for them!
We are here to disciple the saved. There are many believers who are not actively studying God’s Word. We need to provide as many opportunities as possible to give people a chance to hear how Jesus can impact their lives every day.
We are here to minister to our families. Each family is important and we need to reach out to encourage, care, and comfort. Through numerous opportunities we can make a difference.
It is important to remember "why" we are following Christ and going beyond ourselves and moving outside our comfort zone. Let’s not forget the reason we started and finish well. Also, we need to remember that we are empowered by Jesus! Our strength, wisdom, and skills are a gift from Him. We need to lean on Him, He is great and awesome and will fight for us.
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