My hope is that you are taking the time to read the book of Nehemiah as you read my post. I found it to be filled with so much wisdom and so applicable in today's world.
In Chapter 2, we see that at least four months have pasted since Nehemiah first learned of the condition in Jerusalem. The first important thing to note is that he is still sad over the issue! A sadness so intense that it affects his demeanor and overtakes his posture in front of the King to the point that the King notices.
As Christians, we are called to live joyful lives because of the hope we have and so that others will notice and inquire of the source of our joy. However, Nehemiah's usual joy is masked by his sadness and the King senses this as a sadness of heart.
To speak with the King was to be done with great fear and trembling and with honor and respect. Nehemiah was afraid to answer the King's question when the King inquired of what caused Nehemiah's sadness but he faced his fear and shared his concern with the King. The King asked Nehemiah what he wanted and to my amazement Nehemiah had a very detailed plan and boldly laid it out for the King. The King was willing to help and offered everything Nehemiah had asked for and even offered up more.
Nehemiah had spent these last four months figuring out what to do and thinking ahead to what he would need. He was prepared with an action plan and ready for when God would open the door for him. He faced his fears and spoke with the King and was happy to find the King receptive to his concern and to his goal to fix it.
Do we prepare for action while we patiently wait on God's perfect timing for a door to be opened? Nehemiah could have rashly rushed ahead with his plan, not waiting for the King's help, and probably in disrespect to the King, but he would not have been successful this way. He knew to wait upon the Lord and in the meantime prepare.
Even if we prepare and patiently wait for God to open the door, once it's open we sometimes freeze in fear. We let our insecurities prevent us from seizing the opportunity and we miss the chance to be the one to do something about it. God will see to it that what he wants to happen will still happen. It will just be someone else who does it. Someone who didn't freeze. Someone who trusted in the providence of God for success.
The next part of the story I want to note is that opposition immediately begins to form against Nehemiah and his plans. Anytime we are doing God's work in this world we should expect opposition and persecution. The world will always want to ravage against the plans of God. It's a good indication that you ARE doing what God wants if you are experiencing grief from the people of the world. However, don't lose faith because God is bigger than anything they could throw at you and he will frustrate the plans of the wicked.
Once Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, and before he shared his plan with any of the inhabitants, he secretly went to investigate the wall damage for himself. Nehemiah did a personal inventory and saw with his own eyes the extent of the damage. He probably finalized his plan after seeing exactly what needed to be done not relying on the words of others but seeing it for himself. If we are to lead an effort, we should thoroughly investigate it firsthand, and ensure our plan will be effective and adjust if necessary.
Now Nehemiah gathers the people and points out the problem. The problem was already obvious to the people who had been living there and if Nehemiah would have stopped there no more would have been done. If any one of these people had already had a plan if would have been implemented already. I can just hear someone in the crowd shouting, "Thank you Captain Obvious". Right?
However, Nehemiah not only has a plan, he also has the confidence of success because God has already blessed the endeavor. The people see him speak with confidence and leadership and they buy into the fact that maybe, just maybe, this plan will work. The fact that God has blessed it helps convince the people the hard work will be worth the effort and they get on board with helping to make it happen.
The people get excited about the prospects and the opposition is right there trying to thwart the effort before it even begins. They use ridicule and intimidation to make the people insecure about their ability to do this task. You've heard this talk before. What are you thinking? Who do you think you are to even attempt this? You don't know the first thing about tackling this problem.
What is one to do when the opposition begins to whittle away at your wall of resolve and confidence to more forward? Well, Nehemiah shows us the only way to protect your resolve is to stay vertical. Pray to the Lord! Let God deal with the opposition so you don't have to waste your time and energy fighting with them, or trying to prove yourself to them, or trying to win them over to your side. Just let God deal with them. Also, trust that God is bigger than us and will pave the way for success. This is not to mean we are to just sit around and wait for God to stop the opposition and provide us with a clean slate to start on. No, we are to plunge ahead and trust that God will provide along the way all that is needed at that particular moment. Trust that God will reward the efforts of the righteous and thwart the efforts of the evil.
Thinking back to the list of problems our country is in today from part one of this series, or from a personal list you made yourself, and keeping in mind the ones that invoke great emotion with you, think about the following questions.
1. What can you do today to begin researching this problem more thoroughly?
2. What can you do today to begin preparing an action plan for making a difference in this area?
3. Are you willing to be in prayer with God about what to do and how?
4. What are your fears about doing anything in this area?
5. Do you trust God is big enough to overcome any obstacles?
Imagine if God called you to solve a problem. Imagine if you accepted the challenge in his strenght. Imagine the good that would be done because one person said yes to God. Imagine the difference it would make for the people who are affected by the problem today. Imagine how you would feel being responsible for changing the course of people's lives for the better. Dream a little dream. Or, better yet dream a big dream today with God!
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