Nehemiah 3-4 | How To Advance The Work During A Confusing Season

So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (Nehemiah 4:6)

Every leader experienced waves of discouragement and confusion during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020. Leaders lead. Leaders want to move the ball forward and get things done. Spiritual leaders want to see the kingdom advance. No true man or woman of God wants to just survive. To get by. To merely tread water. To see the work of God slowed or even stopped. It’s frustrating.

How do we lead in such moments? How do we advance the work of God when it seems that everything is working against us?

A NATIONAL SHUT DOWN

… happened in Nehemiah’s day. Most of the people in the nation of Israel had been taken into captivity in Babylon. There was just a small remnant left to tend the fields in Israel (surely not enough to get anything done.) Over time, the primary city, Jerusalem, had fallen into ruins. The wall was destroyed around the city and the gates had been “burned with fire.” This is a picture of a city totally defenseless and vulnerable. Everything had fallen apart during a confusing season and it seemed there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

But God, as He always does, raised a spiritual leader named Nehemiah to lead during the crisis. Nehemiah could have resisted. He could have said, “This is just too hard. I don’t have the personnel nor the tools to get anything done. I don’t have a clue what to do.” A lesser leader would have sat down, shaken his head, and done nothing. No one would have blamed him.

Not this leader. He prayed incessantly (eight of his prayers are recorded in the book of Nehemiah illustrating that prayer was the foundation for his approach). He surveyed the devastation, took what he had, rallied the people, and advanced the work in record fashion. In a miraculous display of God-initiated leadership by Nehemiah and his friend, Ezra, and followship by the people, the wall of Jerusalem was completely rebuilt in 52 days.

And it was all accomplished in the midst of devastating national conditions.

WHAT EVERYONE HAD TO DO

… to get the work done was to take care of their part of the wall in front of their house. Don’t miss this. Read Nehemiah 3-4. You will see an accounting of the individual families and how each of them worked.

Almost every verse starts with this type of phrase, “Next to him (them) was (the name of the family) and they made repairs (in front of their house and to the next house).” Some of these verses stand out.

Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, the official of half the district of Jerusalem, made repairs, he and his daughters. (Nehemiah 3:12)
After him Baruch, the son of Zabbai zealously repaired another section (vs. 20)
Above the Horse Gate the priests carried out repairs, each in front of his house. (vs. 28)

And on and on the record of this joint effort goes.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU IN SEASONS OF CRISIS?

You can sit down during a hard time and seek to “ride it out.” You can do nothing to advance God’s kingdom and the work of God will deteriorate in front of your eyes. We will be worse at the end of that season if spiritual inactivity becomes our lifestyle.

Or, as a leader, you can pray and get God’s plan. It may not be a grandiose design, but a simple plan to enlist every family to build their part of the wall.

If each leader would lead with prayerful courage like Nehemiah, and each family would work their part of the wall like the remnant in Jerusalem, the work of God could advance IN RECORD TIME! In fact, we might even discover new wineskins of ministry—whole new paradigms for how to get the work of God done (in world evangelization) more quickly and efficiently done.

And it just could be that our fervent prayer and personal work on our part of the wall could lead to a nationwide revival and spiritual awakening, just as it did in Nehemiah’s day.

Father, help us to see what You’re doing in hard seasons. Thank You for men like Moses, Joshua, David, Nehemiah, and the New Testament disciples who were used to advance Your kingdom under horrible national conditions. Thank You for stripping away things that we’ve vainly relied on that could actually be hindering Your work. Thank You that You are building Your church and the gates of hell will not prevail against this work! And thank you that every single leader and every single follower of Christ can be used to build their part of the wall. Help us arise and build!