Today’s Reading: Nehemiah 6-7; Psalm 123; Mark 9:14-29; Hebrews 6:13-20

When word arrived to their enemies that the wall was close to completion, they tried to distract Nehemiah. They sent four messages to him in an attempt to pull away from the work, but he sent the same message back each time. Nothing was going to stop Nehemiah from the work to which God had called him.

Their next tactic was to send a 5th message to Nehemiah in order to cause fear. If they could keep his hands busy wringing and worrying, then he could not continue to lead the work on the wall. But

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”
But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.” – Nehemiah 6:9

THEY TRIED TO CAST FEAR BUT THE LORD GAVE NEHEMIAH STRENGTH.

One man was hired to intimidate Nehemiah by telling him that there were people coming to kill him, and advising him to hide away in the Temple. But giving in to fear would have communicated a lack of faith in God and displayed weak leadership in front of his team. God had given Nehemiah a job to do, and running from that assignment would have been disobedience.

So on October 2 the wall was finished — just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. – Nehemiah 6:15-16

They said it couldn’t be done, but they did not know the power of God. They said it was too big of a job, but they did not know how big our Lord is. They said the problems were too large, but they did not know the generosity of the God we serve! Their efforts to keep the wall from being built were thwarted by the King of the Universe.

THEY SAID IT COULD NOT BE DONE BUT, WITH GOD’S HELP, IT WAS FINALLY FINISHED.

Once the wall was finished, Nehemiah set the doors in place. He built the leadership structure by assigning musicians, gatekeepers, and Levites. Hananiah was named the commander of the citadel, and Nehemiah’s brother, Hanani, was placed in charge of Jerusalem “because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do” (Nehemiah 7:2). As he completed his assignment, the Lord moved Nehemiah to make note of all those who had returned to Jerusalem from exile.

What are you trying to rebuild that seems illogical to those around you? What are you trying to solve that seems impossible? I pray you sense God’s protection around as He equips you with His Spirit to do all He has called you to do. And when others question your integrity, mock your purpose, or twist your words, lift up your eyes to the Lord of mercy who has called you for such a time as this.

I lift my eyes to you,
O God, enthroned in heaven.
We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy,
just as servants keep their eyes on their master,
as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy,
for we have had our fill of contempt.
We have had more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud
and the contempt of the arrogant. – Psalm 123:1-4