Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.” Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water (Nehemiah 4:21-23).

If starting the work was not hard enough, continuing it is even more arduous. Because of the state of the brokenness of the walls and the surrounding audience who were adamant that the rebuilding process would not occur, drastic measures were needed to continue the process.  Nehemiah positioned each person in their place and gave them instructions on how to continue the process. To lay the first few courses of bricks, each person had to develop the dual role of builder and warrior.

To continue with the task ahead we need to learn to fight, which involves breaking down and at the same time build. These two contrasting tasks require balance.  Every person whose desire it is to be restored needs to develop the skills to negotiate when to fight and when to build. This is not an either or situation but both and.

Let us learn to work but be on our guard whilst working and as we build up the wall. Remember that the enemy will be plotting to see how they can stop the work and bring you back to ground zero.

The first course of the building we need to lay is relationship. Let us build up relationship with those who are on our side as we continue the work.

 Read Nehemiah 4:12-23