Psalms 68-69

Romans 8:1-21

“The God of heaven will give us success.”  — Nehemiah 2:20

The work of rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem was met with serious opposition by a coalition of high-ranking people from north, south, east and west, surrounding Jerusalem. Nehemiah answers with confidence their bold accusation of rebelling against the king: “The God of heaven will give us success,” he said. “We His servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it” (Nehemiah 2:20).

        Nehemiah’s response is spiritual and practical. It is spiritual in the sense that God will give them success. This is not a human enterprise, but a divine one. God will be the enabling, and Nehemiah places his trust and dependence wholeheartedly in God. In a practical sense, the people say, “We His servants will start rebuilding.” They are equipped, ready and eager to go. Nehemiah 4:6 says, “We rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.” The people were motivated and inspired because God had moved their hearts to share in Nehemiah’s vision.

        Nehemiah’s work is characterized by two complementary ingredients: his spirituality in which he is in constant touch with God and dependent on Him, and the practicality of making both his vision and God’s vision come to fruition. God looks for people who have His agenda at heart, and who make themselves available to bring about a purpose much deeper than the practical necessities for which we work: that which fulfills the eternal purposes of heaven.

        The broken city of Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place, is the picture of a broken relationship with God, and the rebuilding of the city walls is symbolic of restoring that relationship. That was God’s purpose and the vision He placed in Nehemiah’s heart. God gives us the vision, confirms the direction and we also have confidence that God will supply the resources, overcome the obstacles and be the empowering to complete the task.

        Despite severe opposition, in an astounding 52 days, the people completed rebuilding the gates and walls surrounding the entire city of Jerusalem. There was great celebration and the relationship between the people and God was restored. As Christians, we are God’s vessels, and in union with Him, our work will prove effective and fruitful. Though we may not always be privy to an end result, we could not have a more exciting, adventurous and rewarding life than to know we are filling a role that plays an integral part of the much bigger picture of God’s agenda, which He will bring to completion.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray for a deepening of our relationship so that I may have the amazing privilege of being a part of Your work in this world. Thank You, Lord.