Scripture: Nehemiah 4:18-23
As
for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built,
while the trumpeter stood near me. I said to the nobles, the
officials and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive,
and we are separated on the wall far from one another. "At
whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God
will fight for us." So we carried on the work with half of them
holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared. At that time I
also said to the people, "Let each man with his servant spend the night
within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by
day." So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of
the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his
weapon even to the water.
Insights: Today we
will conclude with the last two cures for discouragement. The first cure is: serving at a rallying
point. We see this point expressed in
verses eighteen through twenty in today’s verses. When the enemy attacked they were to blow
trumpets to indicate where the battle was to be fought and everyone would run
to that rallying point and fight. In
these verses there was a literal point in which the people were to rally, but
there is also a principle at work here.
The principle is: don’t do ministry alone. The people gathered together. When we try and serve the Lord in isolation,
we get tired and burned out, but when we serve with someone we get rejuvenated
and strengthened to serve even more courageously for the Lord. The second cure is: serve, PERIOD! Notice in verses twenty-one through twenty-three
how hard the people served. They were
not even able to change their clothes the work was so intense. They were so focused on the serving that they
did not have time to think about anything else, including a bath and new
clothes. They understood the importance
of this assignment and now that they were no longer discouraged because of
their service. Beloved, we need to
remember these very important lessons we have learned this week out the life of
Nehemiah. As you serve, may the joy of
your salvation return to you because your eyes are on the Lord. Bring glory to our Father by serving and
obeying Him today.
Questions:
- Are you trying to do ministry alone?
- In what ways are you serving the Lord in order to cure
the discouragement in your life?
Prayer: Father, may my
life bring glory to You as I serve You.
May I enjoy years of fruitful labor with my fellow brothers and sisters
under Your grace. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment