Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. (Nehemiah 4:4-5)
They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat. (Nehemiah 4:8-9)
Today's verse is Nehemiah 4:9, but I've included a few extra verses to give context. Read the first part of Nehemiah 4 to see what's going on.
What do you do when you are threatened? Go into a tizzy? Tell everyone you know of your problem? Worry? React? Before thinking it through? Run? Freeze? Or stop, pray, listen, step back and think?
It’s the same old story. Lately, I feel like I see this story played and replayed in real life. In the news. In my own life. In the lives of those recorded in the Scripture. In the lives of my friends. In the lives of my children. It’s everywhere.
So, what is it? Good versus evil.
Nehemiah set out to do something good. To rebuild the walls of his beloved Jerusalem. He even had the permission and support of the King. But he also had his detractors. They were instantly angry and incensed. They ridiculed the Jews. They insulted the Jews. And they plotted to destroy them.
So what did Nehemiah do? He (and the Jews rebuilding the wall) prayed to God and they posted a guard.
Pray. Some things in this life we cannot control. These are the things we place in God’s hands. We hand them off to God in prayer, trusting that God has our best interest at heart and will hear, protect and provide.
Posting the guard. This is the practical. This represents doing the things we can, the everyday things in the physical realm to protect ourselves from threat. For Nehemiah and the Jews, it was arming themselves with spears to protect themselves from attack. For me or for you – posting the guard in the practical realm of everyday life may play out in any number of ways. It is as individual as our particular circumstance.
So – pray and post. And keep moving. Keep building. Everything of value will cost something.
Lord, may we come to you in prayer about everything – especially the things we cannot control. And may we post a guard – engaging the practical things we can do - in our lives to meet the clear and present danger of threats we encounter along the way. Selah.