Jesus is coming again someday. We don’t know the day or hour,
but He did give us some tasks to do until he comes back, and He did tell us to
be prepared.
Matthew 24:42-44 42 Watch therefore:
for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.43 But know this,
that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.44 Therefore
be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
If you’re a follower of Christ part of your job is to always
be prepared, to always be ready and watching, to continue doing the things He
told us to do until His return.
1 Peter 5:8-9 8 Be sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom
resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
The thing about doing what God wants us
to do is there are always enemies who want to tear down the wall, to attack us.
We know Satan is real, we can feel him every day, pushing, trying to pull us
away from Christ.
Nehemiah approached this in a godly manner. God had already
touched this king’s heart. Nehemiah prayed before telling the king what he
needed, and the king helped him.
God wants us to build that wall and stand watch.
Nehemiah 4:7-9
7 But it came to
pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and
the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made up, and that the breaches
began to be stopped, then they were very wroth,8 And conspired
all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.9 Nevertheless
we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night,
because of them.
We’re going to do what we’re
going to do, and we’ll watch these guys.
The people kept whining. Nehemiah
set them up with weapons and told them not to be afraid, that God was with them
and they needed to stand up and fight for their families and their homes. So
they took turns working and standing guard, building with one hand while they
held their swords ready in the other.
Nehemiah had enough faith and
courage to stand up and encourage the rest of the city. As Christians people
need to see us, see who we are, how we act, we as Christians can encourage
others.
God didn’t just leave us, He gave
us weapons.
They had enemies, we have enemies
– sin, pain, our thoughts, this world, Satan.
Ephesians 6:10 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in
the power of his might.
Stop trusting in your own might,
what you think is right. Depend on the power of God, on His might, and His
will. Instead of telling God what you’re doing, ask “God, what is it you
actually want from me?”
