Body Building

When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses." (Nehemiah 4:14)

The rebuilding of the wall and gates of Jerusalem was a monumental task. When the people were actually engaged in the work, then discouragement began. The first tactic of the discouragers was to convince the workers of the futility of the project. The Jews were hearing that they were not strong enough to complete the work. They were told that the work itself was substandard. Not good enough was the taunt that was issued. How many times have the people of God begun a good work to hear seeds of doubt from the mouths of others that there is not enough…not enough people…not enough money…not enough strength...not good enough in the quality of the work…so we might as well quit. I’ve heard that more than I care to recall. Many times it came from within…me talking to myself. The seeds of doubt begin to take root in the Nehemiah project and the people were discouraged. This seems to be natural to a human being. The desire to give up. Quitting becomes the norm. But as for the people of God, there is a different way to live. Live being encouraged, rather than discouraged. Courage comes from God, who empowers godly leaders to encourage the discouraged among them. Nehemiah recognized that the work was bigger than them. And he saw their fear. Fear is a visible thing in that it manifests itself in our lives. When a leader sees his people afraid, he speaks to them about the source of courage. The tactics of terrorism were evident.  The threat of their physical safety was very real. Nehemiah reminded them to remember the character of God and fight for their families, friends and houses. Here’s a lesson to the fearful people of God. Fear God, not people. The strength that they relied upon was in the community effort of building and security. They needed one another. Courage is often exhibited when people are in fearful circumstances and they do what is right at the risk of their own safety. They learned to work in the midst of their fear. They learned to watch one another's back. They were moving in a direction of community strength as they learned the secret of body building. They cannot be strong against outside forces when they treat one another as outsiders. A lesson for God's people. Learn to treat family like the Father wants them treated. God's people made peace with one another, courageous in their unity against those who sought their destruction. God was not only praised, but pleased. He is pleased when His people look out for the welfare of one another. Let’s build up the body, loving and trusting God who helps us love, trust, help, encourage and serve one another.