We all have them. Projects that never get finished. The garage that never gets cleaned. The book that never gets written. The diet that starts every Monday.
Starting is easy. Finishing is hard.
Nehemiah was a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia, a trusted position in the royal court. One day, he got some terrible news from home: the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down, and its gates had been burned with fire.
Nehemiah sat down and wept. For days he mourned, fasted and prayed.
Then one day, the king noticed his sad face and asked what was wrong. Nehemiah shot up a quick prayer to God, took a deep breath, and asked the king for permission to go rebuild the walls.
The king said yes.
When Nehemiah got to Jerusalem, the work began. And so did the opposition. Two local officials, Sanballat and Tobiah, mocked the workers: “If even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!”
When the mocking didn’t work, they threatened to attack. So Nehemiah put half the men to work and the other half on guard. The builders worked with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other.
Then the enemies tried a trick. They invited Nehemiah to a meeting, hoping to harm him. Four times they asked, and four times Nehemiah gave the same answer: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.”
And the wall was finished. In just 52 days.
So, what is determination? Determination is refusing to come down off the wall until the job is done.
Whatever great project God has given you, don’t come down. Finish it.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you for the great projects You have given me. Thank-you for giving me the determination of Nehemiah, so that I will keep building no matter who mocks or opposes me. Thank-you for helping me finish what You have started. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Wikipedia: Nehemiah, Book of Nehemiah, Artaxerxes I
Look-It Up:
Nehemiah’s story is told in Nehemiah 1–6.
So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.
so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”
So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Free Bonus:
As cupbearer, Nehemiah’s job was to taste the king’s wine to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. That made him one of the king’s most trusted men.
Nehemiah’s quick prayer before answering the king (Nehemiah 2:4-5) is often called an “arrow prayer,” a short prayer shot straight up to heaven.
And with that, the Pray 4·40 list is complete. Forty noteworthy qualities. Forty prayers. Be careful what you ask for. You just may get it.