Komstad Evangelical Covenant
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Careful Planning But on the other hand, it was almost too amazing. Too great. Too imposing. Too impossible. Even before this moment in the book, Nehemiah has received help to do what he alone could not do. Don't discount the impossibility of moving the heart of a king. God has been at work in this project, laying out a complex supply chain that would bring necessary materials to Jerusalem. Maybe we missed that. Maybe we assigned the credit for that little feat to Nehemiah. Maybe it was too subtle. Then let's follow Nehemiah on the next phase of his project: the planning. There are more clues that may tell us about the secret of this man's managerial success. The Problem with the Wall On a map, the old city of Jerusalem in Nehemiah's time appears long and narrow. The wall seems to jut out from the higher elevation in the north down into a valley to the south. On a dark night, a few days after his arrival in Jerusalem, Nehemiah sets out to ride around the city and see the condition of the walls. The path is described by some of the gates and landmarks along the way. I'm not much of a map reader, but it is clear that Nehemiah's journey is cut short. He starts out in one direction, but his path is blocked, probably by wreckage. So he turns round and rides back, going up the valley a short distance before turning around again and returning to the city. If he wanted to see the entire wall, he was probably disappointed. I wonder if he even made it half way around. But if he wanted to discover the nature of the problem, he found his answer. The problem was much bigger than he could see or hope to solve. It's possible that he has already figured out some aspects of the problem, even before his ride. He was inside the city for several days. He might have talked to people, or he might have walked around the inside of the wall. But the Bible makes a point of following him on this night. I like to think that God mentions some of the important parts and leaves out some of the not-so-important stuff, as a rule. And so I'm stuck with the fact that Nehemiah is no match for this project. He cannot evaluate it, he cannot understand it, and he cannot dream of fixing it. The Problem with All Great Challenges I think God mentioned all this on purpose, because big problems are usually bigger than any of our resources. We don't usually get called to build a wall these days. Well, sometimes. After the hurricanes hit he Gulf Coast, teams of construction workers converged on the area to clear damage and begin the rebuilding process. Some were military units. Some were private citizens who volunteered. Some came with the Red Cross -- some from churches. Some were just groups of people who lived there and were trying to save their homes. I can't believe that many of them had a full idea of the problem. How could you tally the damage or estimate the time it would take to reconstruct a city with its businesses and schools? Most likely, they just started to work. But most of us are not called to build walls and homes. God calls us to other challenges, most often. Families break down, and just like broken walls they deserve to be rebuilt. Hearts break, and they need repair. And how exactly do we do that? How do we lead someone to the claims of Christ? How do we change a heart in Jesus' name? How do we cause someone to leave their guilt at the cross and rise again in new life? We don't. We can't. I can't begin to understand the working of a heart. It isn't mine to know. I can study it for years and not be able to see half of what is going on inside a person's mind. It's a big problem. And like Nehemiah, the problem is too big for my plan. The Solution to the Problem But the project will not be canceled. Not in Nehemiah's time, and not in ours. He offers an illustration of how it works. He stands in front of the people and says, quite simply, you see the problem we have here. It's big. Real big. Too big. But let's build, anyway. And they say, "Yes." Just like that. I left out a part. And this is the message of Nehemiah. Not that he is some great builder. Not that he has a great plan. He serves a great God. We have a big problem, but God has been at work. Nehemiah tells the people how God has gone before him, providing the help in the presence of the king. God rebuilds walls. God makes our homes safe. God protects families, heals heartaches, forgives sinners and raises souls to new life. And so Nehemiah's accomplishment is that he continued on with the project even when it looked bigger than he could imagine, because of one fact. God was greater than his problem. |
Open
my eyes so that I might see great and
wonderful things in your word.
Psalm 119:18
Psalm 119:18
Beresford,
South Dakota
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