I’m an Action Figure!
Nehemiah: Motivator and Mobilizer
Nehemiah met opposition head-on, giving it no chance
to get a foot-hold nor give it any room to grow. His response was
swift and direct. He was able to do so because:
Nehemiah defined his mission.
Nehemiah came to repair a wall. “Let us rise up and build” (2:18). When the
opposition came casting doubt asking, “what is this thing that you are doing?”
(2:19), he was able to answer them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us;
therefore we His servants will arise and build.” (2:20b)
Nehemiah narrowed his focus.
His critics have no heritage, right or memorial in the city (2:20c) but with a
defined mission in mind, Nehemiah focused on his target and let nothing
distract him from hitting it (3:1-32). Nehemiah’s focus was so narrow that he
was able to name those who were rightfully there to support the mission.
Nehemiah set a guard.
Nehemiah protected his workers and their work. (Neh. 4:9-23) Any difficult
endeavor tends to weaken just after the half-way mark. Strength was failing and
their adversaries were noticing. Nehemiah weaponizes the people according to
their families and encourages their renewed vigor, “do not be afraid of them .
. . remember the Lord . . . fight . . . the work is great . . . wherever you
hear the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.” (4:14, 19-20)
Nehemiah disarmed his enemies.
(Neh. 5-6). In the sight of growing extortion (4:1-8) Nehemiah simplifies the
battlefield by disarming his enemies through swift answers to every distraction
with a mission-based response (6:3, 8, 11). He had no time for opposition.
Nehemiah did what others would not.
(Neh. 5:8-19) Nehemiah works alongside the people, even giving sacrificially of
his own stores and personal wealth to redeems (5:8), provides (5:10), relieves
(5:14-15), works alongside (5:16) and shares (5:17-18), all motivated by his
love for God (5:15)
Popular posts from this blog
I’ll Be Gnome For Christmas
The Island-Fish
“O ye passengers, whom may God preserve! come up quickly in to the ship, hasten to embark, and leave your merchandise, and flee with your lives, and save yourselves from destruction; for this apparent island, upon which ye are, is not really an island, but it is a great fish that hath become stationary in the midst of the sea, and the sand hath accumulated upon it, so that it hath become like an island, and trees have grown upon it since times of old; and when ye lighted the fire upon it, the fish felt the heat, and put itself in motion, and now it will descend with you into the sea, and ye will all be drowned: then seek for yourselves escape before destruction, and leave the merchandise.—The passengers, therefore, hearing the words of the master of the ship, hastened to go up into the vessel, leaving the merchandise, and their other goods, and their copper cooking-pots, and their fire-pots; and some reached the ship, and others reached it not. The island had moved, and descended...
“And so, about this tomb of mine . . . “
“VANITY, saith the preacher, vanity! Draw round my bed: is Anselm keeping back? Nephews—sons mine … ah God, I know not! Well— She, men would have to be your mother once, Old Gandolf envied me, so fair she was! What’s done is done, and she is dead beside, Dead long ago, and I am Bishop since, And as she died so must we die ourselves, And thence ye may perceive the world’s a dream. Life, how and what is it? As here I lie In this state-chamber, dying by degrees, Hours and long hours in the dead night, I ask “Do I live, am I dead?” Peace, peace seems all. Saint Praxed’s ever was the church for peace; And so, about this tomb of mine. I fought With tooth and nail to save my niche, ye know: —Old Gandolf cozened me, despite my care; Shrewd was that snatch from out the corner South He graced his carrion with, God curse the same! Yet still my niche is not so cramped...