TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing?” Nehemiah 4:1-2a
Read: Nehemiah 4:1-4
Listen: Nehemiah 4
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Nehemiah is devastated when he hears the walls of Jerusalem are crumbled and dilapidated. He then initiates a plan to rebuild them. He gets off to a great start! Nehemiah gains support from the King of Persia, and help from both Jews living in and outside of Jerusalem. However, midway through the project, their enthusiasm turns into exhaustion, discouragement and fear. The project is in danger of coming to a stop. There is a world of difference between starting to move and continuing to move.
Problems stack up midway through the rebuild. It starts with exhaustion from the task of turning rubble into a wall. Then surrounding warlords feel threatened and mock and shame them. On top of that, these warlords plot to attack from all sides. Some of the Jews feel tempted to quit. This week we will see that we too may become discouraged in our rebuilding. We may be exhausted, scared or even bored. Our problems may stack up. But we must make it through the middle to get to the end. As Paul writes in Galatians, we have to continue to do the right thing so we can see a harvest in the end (Galatians 6:9).
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
There may be an area in your life you have offered to God to rebuild but you are tempted to quit. Pray for his help to keep moving. “Father God I admit I’m tired and weary. Please help me not to quit midway through rebuilding ____________. Help me move forward and reap the rich harvest that comes from trusting you. Amen.”
2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES
Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.
November is BIBLE MEDITATION. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
