Nehemiah 4
The other day, as I watched my daughter’s librarian read her a story through Google Classroom, I was reminded of the power of stories. They have the power to draw us out of ourselves, to give us a new perspective, to remind us that we are not alone. I’ve needed to hear stories this week- stories of hope, stories of encouragement, stories of how God is at work in the world. I’ve needed to be reminded that while the circumstances we find ourselves in are completely new, God is the same yesterday, today and forever, and that he has given us all we need to walk in the stories he is writing for us today.
One such story for me has been the story of Nehemiah. I have been particularly encouraged by where we find his story in chapter 4. Up until this point, Nehemiah’s story has been one of triumph and success. God’s people have been in exile, but now they get to return home to Jerusalem. They have the opportunity to rebuild the city, the temple, and their lives. God has given them great favor in their journey and in their work, and everything seems to be going well. The third chapter of Nehemiah records this beautiful picture of God’s people working together to build the kingdom- every person, every gift, every amount of ability coming together to rebuild the city wall. God’s people and place were on their way to again becoming what they had always been intended to be- a place characterized by the presence of God, poised to be a conduit of God’s blessing to the rest of the world.
But then comes chapter 4, and the people of God find themselves in very similar circumstances as we find ourselves in today. They are up against a great threat, and they are overwhelmed by a heavy weight. The nations on every side are plotting to destroy them, and at the same the people doing the work are becoming weary. Verse 10 says of those working on the wall, “The strength of those who bear the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble. By ourselves we will not be able to rebuild the wall.” I do not know Nehemiah’s intent, but it seems intentionally ambiguous. What strength is failing? Physical? Emotional? Spiritual? All of the above? Whatever it is, the people of God are overwhelmed.
Sisters, where do you find yourselves today? We are indeed up against a great threat- one over which we have no control, and one of which we cannot know the length of its tyranny and the extent of its toll. And for many of us, we are overwhelmed by a heavy weight- the weight of fear and of loneliness, of exhaustion and failure. We find ourselves in circumstances we never dreamed of, and are wondering what our new rhythm should look like in the day to day. How often in the last week have we cried out like the people of God, “our strength is failing, we are overwhelmed”?
Nehemiah’s story is one of encouragement and hope because of his response to the threat that surrounds him and the weight that overwhelms him. It is a two-fold response of prayer and practice, of worship and of work, of trust and obedience. His response shows forth the paradoxical reality that God is in control and what we do with today matters.
First, Nehemiah prays. Over and over throughout the passage, when Nehemiah finds himself up against a threat, we find him fleeing to God in prayer. In reading the Psalms in these last days, I am struck by how frequently the Psalmists refer to God as their refuge- the one to whom they flee, and in whom they hide and find their rest. This is essentially what Nehemiah is doing in this chapter. In the face of danger, he hides himself in his protector. In the face of weariness, he hides himself in the one who is strong. In leading us to God as our refuge, Nehemiah’s story leads us to the one answer to our being overwhelmed with our circumstances: We must be overwhelmed by someone greater than our circumstances. We must be overwhelmed by God himself.
One of my favorite hymns starts out this way, Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.
As we take refuge in God himself, we become overwhelmed with who he is. He is infinitely greater and stronger than we are. He is greater and stronger than what overwhelms us most.
When overwhelmed by our fears, we can hide ourselves in the one who controls all things.
When overwhelmed by our loneliness, we can hide ourselves in the one who has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
When overwhelmed by our grief, we can hide ourselves in the one who became a man of sorrows.
When overwhelmed with weariness, we can hide ourselves in the one who promises to give us rest.
When overwhelmed with needing to do more, we can hide ourselves in the one who has said, it is finished.
When overwhelmed with despair, we can hide ourselves in the one who wept but promises a day when all will be made new, and there will be no more sickness, or sorrow, or tears.
In the face of great trial, Nehemiah goes first to the Lord, but it is not his only response. Nehemiah prays, and then he keeps on building the wall. There is great power in one little word found throughout the passage- “so…”
- so, we built the wall (v. 6)
- so, we stationed the people (v. 13)
- so, we labored at the work (v. 20)
In response to the great threat around them and the weariness within them, Nehemiah encourages the people of God to continue the work right in front of them. The hard, the tedious, the monotonous, the small- the brick by brick building of the wall. They couldn’t see the whole wall, they couldn’t see the whole story, but they could keep building what was right in front of them.
Friends, I feel that in these days so much of what we are called to do feels like wall building- hard, tedious, monotonous, and small. But be encouraged that this is where the building of the Kingdom of God takes place. The seemingly small things you are doing each day- in the midst of a great threat and an overwhelming weight, are the very things God is using to extend his Kingdom and to push back the darkness in this world. The homeschooling. The grocery shopping for the more vulnerable among us. The calling your parents. The loving your neighbor. The working from home. The going to work. The staying isolated when you are scared and lonely. The repenting to your family. The forgiving your spouse. The sacrificing of your time, your money, your groceries, and your toilet paper. Your simply doing the next right thing in front of you is the very thing God is using to bring his story of redemption to bear on a weary and watching world.
We do not know what tomorrow will hold- what threats will attack us or what weights will overwhelm us. But we do know that God is with us, and that he is at work. Let us hide ourselves in him and give ourselves to the work in front of us. He is our refuge and strength.