From the reports that Nehemiah had received the task must have been overwhelming. A people in disgrace, a city broken down, and him far away. It would have been easier just to maintain the status quo. Feel bad but not bad enough to disrupt his live. Feel discouraged but maybe get over it by doing something fun. After all this was geopolitics, what could he do? But he did not succumb to such discouragement.

When he got there and made his assessment surely it was probably worse than he had been told. Parts of it he could not even ride through. Who were the people there and what could they do? How would he organize all this. How could it be accomplished.   But Nehemiah was not to be deterred. Instead after facing the reality of the situation, assessing what needed to be done, he inspired the people.

Sometimes we might look at where we are. We are few in number, and we don’t even have any walls, let alone some broken down ones. We live in culture where 76% of the people do not care to attend any church and a whole bunch of them fairly hostile to the idea. The regulatory and financial circumstances that govern this world make the possibility of a small church building , well sort of small. However, just like Nehemiah, we too should not be deterred. God impassioned him for his people and for his city and his walls. We too should be so impassioned. God equipped him and those around him to accomplish the task even though it wasn’t their regular jobs or even something they were experienced at. What must have seemed overwhelming was accomplished. Nehemiah is a testament to what can be done and he is an example for us.

Come be encouraged with how Nehemiah got it done.

See you at church,

Pastor Chris