God Is Our Success

Introduction

How do we know what God wants us to do? We often pray for signs, like Gideon, seeking something that seems to point in one direction with a bright neon flashing arrow making the path unmistakable. But signs are not always ours. Like most of us, we seek wisdom, we pray, we plead for direction, then we try a few tentative steps in one direction and if nothing happens we begin in that direction all the while praying that God will set things right if it isn’t the way he would want us to go.

We also work on a couple of assumptions when seeking God’s will. We assume that God’s direction will not bring hardship, that if we are going in God’s direction the path will at least be smooth. This is the way that we are supposed to know that God is leading us. But this assumption is false. Going in God’s direction does not mean lack of difficulty. Just ask David who lived in caves a while or Paul who suffered all kinds of hardships or Jesus in Gethsemane.

The second assumption we make is that there is only one direction for God to lead us in—a right and wrong direction. Sometimes that is true, but many times God gives us a number of choices. It is almost as if he is saying “choose one and I will bless you.” There is no discussion when it comes to God’s command. We cannot violate his command and ask for his blessing, but so often we find ourselves with choices which are neither right nor wrong. These choices are good and we wonder which one is God’s will. In those times it seems that God often allows us to choose and he will bless our choice.

A third assumption is that God will reveal his will for us in the same way that he revealed his will for others. But this assumption, too, is erroneous. Although God chose at certain times to speak either directly or through others to some of his people, there were times of great silence and times in which faith was expected. Consider Abraham. God spoke to him at age 75. The next time that we know he spoke to him was some 25 years later. During that time we know that Abraham made some poor choices. Trying to discern God’s will, he used his own wisdom instead of seeking God’s wisdom. His trip to Egypt and his using Hagar to bring about God’s plan are the two examples given to us of Abraham’s waning faith.

Today we are going to look at Nehemiah’s great faith and his reliance on God. We need to be like him.

Nehemiah’s Arrival

There seems to be little to suggest that Nehemiah’s arrival is met with anything except indifference. But then the focus of the text is not so much on Nehemiah as it is on what God is going to do through him. After three days probably to rest, Nehemiah takes a secret nighttime survey of the damage done to the walls of Jerusalem. It is as bad as he was told. The destruction is so great that he is unable to complete his survey. The path is too littered with the rubble from the walls so that he must turn back and return to the city. Why would he not tell anyone? Speculation is that he didn’t want any opposition before it was time to reveal the full intent of his plan. We do know that opposition had stopped progress once before. Nehemiah is careful to craft a plan which will have the greatest chance of acceptance.

In verses 17-18, Nehemiah makes an impassioned speech about the current situation. He points out that the destruction of Jerusalem has resulted in real trouble. They are vulnerable to their enemies. They are in disgrace. At this meeting Nehemiah reveals the way in which God has been working through him to make it possible for him to be in Jerusalem. You can hear the speech. He tells about being the king’s cupbearer and how God used that position to make it possible for him to make his request. He tells how favorable the king has been to the request. He shows them the letters of passage and the letter promising the needed supplies. He tells about his midnight survey and what he found. And he encourages them to try again to rebuild the walls so that Jerusalem will no longer be a disgrace as God’s people.

And the leaders agree. They should rebuild the walls. Opposition begins almost immediately, but they are determined to finish the work. With Nehemiah’s leadership, the people will rebuild the walls. With God’s direction being so clearly outlined, they will follow his leading. It will not be easy. Following God’s will is going to result in mockery and ridicule. Some will try to stop them, but their cry has become “the God of heaven will give us success.”

Application

Notice what Nehemiah does in order to finalize support. First, he rallies the people around one common goal—the rebuilding of the walls around the city. This wasn’t the only thing that needed to be done. We will discover later on that a number of religious observes had also fallen into disuse, but he first rallied the people to participate in a common goal. Second, he motivates the people by using values that they hold to be dear. He announces that it isn’t God’s will that they live in disgrace any longer. He reminds them that they are God’s people. He calls them to a greater vision of what once was and what can be because they are trying to follow the will of God.

But the thing that Nehemiah does most of all is to point at God’s obvious direction through the events which have occurred before his arrival. In other words, he kept the focus on God. He bragged on what God had done and he gave the people a vision for what could be. He reassured the people that God would provide even as he had already provided for his arrival in Jerusalem. God had been working to make it possible for the walls to be rebuilt and now it was time for the people to follow through with the clear desire of God. And when the opposition came, he did not allow the people to lose focus. He constantly reminded the people that they were God’s servants and that God himself was behind the activity.

So what is God going to do here? Ten years ago, we sought God’s wisdom; discerned his will for our future; and by his grace we began to understand that our place in this community is not secured by a building but by involving ourselves in the lives of people. A vision for what could be brought a building into existence. But times have changed. We must again seek God’s wisdom and discern his will for our future. God has never failed us. We are the people of God. His will is that we demonstrate our faith in him.

Real work begins with prayer and fasting. Real work begins too with a sleepless night. Nehemiah lost a night of sleep to survey the damage. He spends a sleepless night agonizing over the condition of his beloved city. So we too must agonize over our situation. Two weeks ago I asked if there was anyone in your life that you had a burden for—a person that you wanted them to know Jesus as you know him. Who is there that you are willing to lose a night’s sleep over? What neighbor or co-worker touches your heart because you know they are in ruins and they need Jesus? God will give you success. We are the people of God. We share a common value—that others know him as we know him. Our dream is to see people come to him. We dream of seeing more accept him as their Savior. How we are going to make that happen is unknown. But God has put on our hearts a desire to rebuild. Let us rebuild.

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