Building the wall or...

Photo by Tim Umphreys on Unsplash

We meet Nehemiah in his book, Nehemiah, as a slave in a foreign country; he was King Artaxerxes’s cup bearer. However in this book we see him being used by the Lord and rising to be a great leader. His journey simply started with a conversation with someone the same way you hear the news or get a phone call. When he hears about the wall of Jerusalem being broken and its gates destroyed by fire, we immediately see his grief, his prayer, his beseeching to the king (Nehemiah Chapter 1 and 2); his wisdom, his leadership and his rallying the people to build a wall around Jerusalem and even asking its citizens to fight in order to finish the wall as the opposition was great (Nehemiah 3 and 4); finally, freeing the oppressed and the wall being finished (Nehemiah 5 and 6).

Communities coming together and building something for the benefit of its community in the past generations is everywhere in history. Winston Churchill is known in history to have rallied the tired soldiers during WW2. Teddy Roosevelt made the famous speech, ‘the man in the arena’ that has encouraged people in 1910 and even today. Here is the speech: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

What course are you fighting for at this moment? Which need, person, or community has brought you grief? Is the Lord calling you to partner with Him on behalf of something, someone or a group of people?

Personally, my grief in the past months has been the people of Pokot, a community in northern Kenya. I have cried, prayed and am currently raising support for the Pokot people regarding the food crisis in that community after a long drought spell and I am also looking for support for a long-term solution that will entail establishing an irrigation system for them in the near future. Their need echoes those of the Jews in Nehemiah’s time.

For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many; we must get grain, so that we may eat and stay alive.” Nehemiah 5:2 NRSV

This community has been at war with scarce resources for a long long time, fighting to survive.

1. Will you consider praying for the community to continue coming to Christ.

2. Pray that partnership can exist between the government, non government organizations, the  churches and the community to come together for permanent solutions in this community.

3. Pray for *Seth and his family, the field worker who serves in this community.

4. Pray and consider giving using this link https://allnationsinternational.kindful.com/?campaign=1181188

I hope and pray that in your own journey and in what the Lord has laid before you:

●       You will remember and draw courage from the men and women who have sacrificed for others. Our greatest example was set by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave up his life that we may have ours through Him.

●       Let us remember that we are not on our own in the arena but are in partnership with our Lord Jesus Christ that as we keep abiding in Him we will bear more fruit.

●       God uses people like you and me to spread His love to His children as we obey Him and love one another.

Reflect

1. Read the book of Nehemiah

2. Share this with someone as the Lord leads you.

3. Reach out to your hub leader to see areas that you can serve or need help with as you serve in your calling.

About the author: Ruth is passionate about helping facilitate healing for people lost in addiction. Through discipleship and counseling, she has seen many individuals in Kenya and elsewhere in the world find freedom in Christ. She is an All Nations field worker based in Nairobi, Kenya under the Kampala hub.
Ruth’s testament of Jesus’s victory in her own journey of healing from addiction can be viewed and purchased at https://amzn.to/2YF9ci0.

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