This past Sunday Cole preached about what it looks like to take the first step toward doing what we're called to do. As a part of his sermon, he challenged us to read through the account of Nehemiah, and his work in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. As I was reading through Nehemiah this morning, the Lord brought a few things to my attention. And I don't want to forget them.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer for the king. He wasn't a foreman or a construction guru...he didn't have years of experience leading large groups of people... he wasn't in a position of prestige and power. He was a cupbearer. He was the first to taste the wine for the king to see if it had been poisoned. Yet He was willing to go to his homeland and rebuild the wall.
When he got to Jerusalem, he began recruiting others to join him in the work. The ones who got to work with him were priests (v3), goldsmiths and perfumemakers (v8). They weren't professionally trained for the work that the Lord called them to do. But they were faithful. They didn't have to know how to build the whole wall. They just worked on their own section. Faithfully.
Scripture also says that many of the families worked on the gates "opposite his house," "in front of their house," and "beside his house." They worked as fathers and sons, families, or "with the help of his daughters." They were in their own neighborhoods, working as families! They didn't travel to the other side of the city to work. They didn't have to find a team of people who knew what they were doing. They worked near their own homes and with their own people.
I think this speaks volumes about the work that God calls us to do in our own lives. The ministry we're called to may or may not have anything to do with what we think we're trained to do. It might just be work that needs to be done. It's also probably closer to home than we think.
There are some people who are called to do great big things, travelling to far away lands telling the masses about the Good News of the gospel. But for most of us, our ministry is at home. In our own cities, in our own neighborhoods, working alongside our own families. Our work is probably not glamorous, and we probably aren't going to get rich & famous for it.
Name a builder of the Wall of Jerusalem. Go ahead... I'll wait.
You can't do it.
They didn't get rich or famous. Except that their names & stories are recorded in scripture, and they're so famous in HIS story.
And that's what it's actually all about. Making His name great and making His work famous.
You know what else I noticed? Their work wasn't easy-peasy. They had opposition and enemies and naysayers. People questioned whether or not they were capable. Or if they were working for their own impure motives. But they knew the truth, that their work was of the Lord. And so they were faithful.
But even in knowing that the Lord was with them and that He would give them success, they still carried weapons while they worked and they appointed some of the workers to take turns being guards. They weren't careless or naive about the dangers that their enemies presented. And we shouldn't be either. Even when we are doing the work that the Lord has called us to do, and we know that full-well, we still should be vigilant and careful to protect that work. Be armed, maybe physically... definitely spiritually. And when danger presents itself, keep working! "Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked." (4:17)
We are not promised easy conditions or wide open doors into the promised land! In fact, I believe that if the work is worth it (and any work of the Lord always is), there will be opposition. There will be those who are threatened by it, and those who say we can't or shouldn't keep going. #balderdash!
"Don't be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes." (v14) And so the wall was completed in 52 days.
Great things can be done when 1) we are faithful to do the work that the Lord is calling us to do; 2) we rally together with those around us, our families & our neighbors, and do our part; and 3) we don't worry ourselves with the business of the whole wall, but we faithfully work on our part, doing what we can do.
Lord, help me be faithful to do my part in Moberly, Missouri. Show me how to gather my family, my children, around me to put our hands & feet to work for You. Show us which part of the "wall" is ours to build, and which parts are for others to be concerned with. Most of all, Lord, let us remember You, You who are great and awesome and faithful to do what You say You will do!
Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. Zech 4:10
