Taking the First Step in God’s Plan
So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20)
Nehemiah chapter 2 tells us that the good hand of our God was upon Nehemiah. God had put in his heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. God protected his journey to Jerusalem, gave him favor from the king Artazerxes, and we can see how God helped him to overcome many obstacles. But in order for God to move obstacles in our life, we must be able to take the first step.
The reason why many people sit around and complain about broken down walls, instead of rebuilding them, is because they are unwilling to take the first step. Remember you can never take the second step until you take the first step.
Nehemiah demonstrates for us the four steps that guarantee success.
I. Step Back And Wait
"And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king." (Nehemiah 2:1)
If you go back to Nehemiah 1:1, "It came to pass in the month of Chislev in the twentieth year." Now Chislev is November. Nisan is March. Nehemiah had been praying to the Lord for 4 months. Some people may think it is a great deal if they pray for only four minutes. Yet for four months, day and night, without talking to anyone else, Nehemiah had been praying about this problem to the Lord. Praying and waiting.
That is a very difficult lesson for us to learn because praying and waiting goes hand in hand. I want you to remember that waiting time is never wasting time. Many times the first thing you need to do when you face a problem is simply talk to the Lord and wait. I know it is tough to wait in our microwave culture. We live in an "instant" world. We have everything from instant coffee to instant mashed potatoes to instant delivery. The modern day life has one speed—FAST!
One of the things you need to learn about God is this - God puts a premium on patience. He wants us to wait and trust Him until He tells us exactly what we need to do about a problem. Because God wants us to get on HIS timetable. Nehemiah knew what God had called him to do and that was to rebuild the walls, but he had no clue how God would do it or when God would do it. He just had to pray and wait. God wants to teach us how to wait, because when God forces us to wait, He is building into us things like patience, perseverance, persistence and faith. "Whoever believes will not act hastily." (Isaiah 28:16)
Haste makes waste. The first step you need to take whenever you face broken down walls is simply to step back and wait for God.
II. Step Up And Ask
"And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.' So I became dreadfully afraid." (Nehemiah 2:1-2)
One of the reasons why I love Nehemiah is that he is so transparent. In chapter 1, we see a Nehemiah of faith. Now we see a Nehemiah of fear. He had carried this burden for four months and for four months he had not complained. He had stayed faithful in his duties. He just went about his business, but the burden of God's call on his life had gotten heavier and heavier.
When Nehemiah shared his burden with the king, he got the shock of his life. "Then the king said to me, ''What do you request?" (Nehemiah 2:4) On hearing this from the king, Nehemiah utilized one of the greatest weapons of a Christian. Listen to this next statement. "So I prayed to the God of heaven." (Nehemiah 2: 4)
Nehemiah had prayed, but he had also planned. "Furthermore I said to the king, ‘"If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.' And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me." (Nehemiah 2: 7-8)
Nehemiah needed two sets of people to help him. First of all, he needed the governors of the surrounding lands to give him safe passage as he traveled through. He also needed the keepers of the forest to give him the timber he needed to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah was ready. He knew God would do His part and Nehemiah had done his part. God's part was to push things through. Nehemiah's part was to think things through and pray.
Even though Nehemiah prayed and planned, he kept the proper perspective. He says in verse 8, "And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me." You look at any success you have had in your life and remember this: it was because the good hand of God was upon you. "The good hand of God is upon us." When you know God is on your side, you know that He will do His part when you have done your part. Through prayer, you must step up and ask.
III. Step In And Look
"So I came to Jerusalem and was there, three days." (Nehemiah 2:11) Nehemiah probably rested because it was a hard journey of several months. He was praying and he was still planning. "There's a right time and way for everything." (Ecclesiastes 8:6, MSG)
For three days, Nehemiah was working quietly behind the scenes, not making any fuss, living under the radar, and not calling any attention to himself. For thousands of years, as you read the Old Testament, you find that God was working quietly behind the scenes getting this world ready for the coming of Jesus Christ. So do not be discouraged, when you look at what is happening in our world, because know that God is working quietly behind the scenes getting this world ready for the second coming of His Son.
After those three days, what does Nehemiah do?
"Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put in my heart to do at Jerusalem; nor was there any animal with me, except the one on which I rode. And I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates which were burned with fire." (Nehemiah 2: 12-13)
Nehemiah was finding facts. He was fixing his focus. The task was great. The circumference of the city was between one and a half and two and a half miles. The destruction was great and the project was going to be absolutely massive. Nehemiah wanted to make sure he had every fact.
Step in and look at everything around you. Pray about everything you see.
IV. Step Out And Act
"You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach." (Nehemiah 2:17)
Nehemiah was letting these people know up front who barely knew him that they were all in this thing together. It wasn't just that the physical welfare of the people was at risk. God's glory and God's honor was on the line. Nehemiah was saying in effect these walls need to be rebuilt not because they are broken down, but because broken down walls are a reproach to God's people and to God Himself.
The Jews were God's chosen people. They were meant to be a light to the nations. “And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. So they said, "Let us rise up and build." Then they set their hands to this good work." (Nehemiah 2:18)
But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, "What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?" (Nehemiah 2:19) These people carry vision extinguishers around. They always look to put out any fire of enthusiasm that wants to do a great work for God. We must continuously pray for an opportunity. But understand this, when you pray for an opportunity, you are going to get opposition. The Apostle Paul made an interesting statement: "A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here. There is also mushrooming opposition - I Corinthians, 16:9, MSG
There is no opportunity without opposition. People who walk by sight will always be hostile to people who walk by faith. More importantly than opposition is, how you respond to it. Nehemiah answered the kings and said to them, "The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem." (Nehemiah 2:20)
Nehemiah knew he and his project was in God's hands, and that made all the difference. A rod in Moses' hands will part the Red Sea. A slingshot in David's hands will kill a giant. Nails in the hands of Jesus' can produce salvation for the entire world. You see it all depends on whose hands it is in. We can put our problems, our concerns, our worries, our hopes, our fears, our dreams, our future, our families and everything we are, in God's hands. One step at a time with His help, we can rebuild our broken walls.
