Encouragement

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The book of Nehemiah is unique in its own way. We meet up with this son asking them who had come from Jerusalem as to the present condition of the city. He was confronted with news that caused him to be distraught. The city lay in ruins. Its walls were torn down and the gates were burned down. In short Jerusalem was a heap of ruin. Walls were essential in the defence of any city in Nehemiah’s day. They also had an element of pride attached to them. As a result of Jerusalem’s state, the people were in great trouble and disgraced.

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted before the God of heaven Nehemiah 1:4. This was the response of the man of God to the state of his beloved city. What a way to be concerned about our place of habitation. Nehemiah was a caring man. Even though he was well kept in the palace he still had a heart for them that had remained behind during the exile. He got on his knees and prayed. We’ll use the acronym PRAY to illustrate what was in his prayer.

P- Praise to the Living God who made all things
R- Repentance through the confession of sin for all the Israelites- he included
A- Asked the LORD to remember His promise to Moses
Y- Yearned for God to give success by granting him favour in the King’s sight.

Having received this assurance in a prayer that spanned for quite a long time, Nehemiah found himself in the King’s presence. Here the King noticed his gloomy face and sought to find out what was eating away at Nehemiah’s heart. Having learnt of his desire, the King allowed him, rather commissioned him, to take some time off to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Imagine this, the Managing Director of the world’s largest company authorizing you, his personal assistant, to take some months off so that you can go and rebuild the walls of a fallen and forgotten city. Wouldn’t you call that favour? I know I would. God granted him success to find favour in the King’s sight and therefore he was able to pack his bags and go back to Jerusalem. I believe that he was singing one of the famous songs about Jerusalem as he made his way back there. Who wouldn’t? It probably was his first time to set foot outside the citadel and he was so excited that the journey didn’t take as long as he would have anticipated.

So off went the jubilant Nehemiah and he arrived in Jerusalem. I believe he was greeted with one of the most painful sights of his life. Lying before him was that once beautiful city in a pile of ruins that would never even attract the world’s most avid tourist. One night he took some men along and decided to take a look around. He had not told anyone what God had put in his heart to do for Jerusalem. So he decided to leave the men behind and went on a solo inspection of the walls. During this round God was just ministering to his heart the exact details of how the repair work was going to be carried out

Until the time was right, the plan was kept a secret. His call to the rest was, “Let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and we will no longer be in disgrace” Nehemiah 2:17. As in the case with the Temple, there was serious opposition to the work. But by the grace of God the walls were back in place in a record 52 days. Nehemiah was responsible for mobilising the motivation to do God’s work with such vigour. He was the man with the vision and he was able to dictate the pace of the work. All manner of men were brought together to do the work and each had a portion to build.

There were times of discouragement and fear, but Nehemiah found his strength in the LORD. When he was overcome with fear and tired from all the hard work, he was bold enough to return to God and say, “Now strengthen my hands” Nehemiah 6:9. The enemy had been trying to frighten them so that their hands would grow weak and the work would suffer. But like David, this son strengthened himself in the LORD. Sons will know whom to turn to when the situation gets tough. It may be terrifying and the strength may be gone but like Nehemiah come to God and ask for strength. In chapter 8:10, we find him saying, “The joy of the LORD is our/your strength.”

He knew the abundance of grace made available to him. To cap off such a fine job, Nehemiah was promoted to governor of the province. In this office he was able to assist the poor residents by not demanding his due rights from them. He was above all dedicated to the task set before him and this he did with excellence. After the hard work came the promotion. It goes to show that promotion comes with responsibility.

Now we take a look at our own lives. How many of us carry a burden for our place of habitation? Or how many have the desire to see Christ’s Body function in the same way He would have it function? Truthfully answer yourself and see if you are still in line with the will of God. You will find that nine times out of ten, men are not willing to take extra care than is expected of them to see that something is fully functional.

Nehemiah on the other hand had all the luxuries at his disposal but he still had a heart for the homeland of his ancestors. Jerusalem was God’s chosen place of residence. The fact that it was desolate meant that God wasn’t there any more. How could God live in such a place as this where there was no Temple or even walls? Remember Jerusalem had been the place of God’s habitation and now He was gone. When God has vacated your place of habitation are you willing to pay the price for Him to come back?

Nehemiah took it to heart that for God to return and dwell there all things had to be in order. Do we ever realise the faults we have in the Church or do we think it is the Pastor’s responsibility to make it all right? Look at your surroundings and see if all things are in order. If they are not it means that some fixing has to be done. Have a heart like Nehemiah’s to intercede on behalf of your people, city and country. Zimbabwe needs a people that will stand in the gap and see the Glory of God manifest in our lives.

Moreover we need a people with a vision from God of rebuilding the pride and defence of our lives. Remember that we need to be secure in the LORD and the minute we lose that security it can spell doom for us. When you have a vision from God be careful whom you reveal it to because not everyone with you is on your side and not everyone can see God the same way that you see Him. Only at the right time can you let things be known and that time is when you say, “Let us rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and we will suffer no disgrace.”

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