(WHOLE CHAPTER)
In a 1910 speech entitled “Citizenship in the Republic,” Teddy Roosevelt uttered these words:
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who...at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Nehemiah knew what it meant to “dare greatly.” To rebuild and restore anything is never easy—it takes courage, resiliency, and the commitment to take risks. Rebuilding the city walls of Jerusalem required a team that understood the realities and that was committed to do what needed to be done—no matter what. Only after Nehemiah told his team “of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also the words that the king had spoken to me,” the whole group said, “Let us rise up and build.” The text goes on: “So they strengthened their hands for the good work.”
The word used in Hebrew for “strengthened” is chazaq, the same word used in other places in the Old Testament for courage—a kind of courage infused with strength, stamina, endurance, perseverance, and fortitude. Rebuilding and restoring require nothing less.
No sooner had Nehemiah and his colleagues committed themselves to “rise up and build,” when the attacks of the opposition began—Sanballat and Tobiah’s jeers and scornful words: “What is this thing you are doing?” Nehemiah’s response to his attackers is nothing short of deep faith in God: “The God of Heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build...” Nehemiah’s experience reminds us that in the challenging but hopeful tasks of rebuilding and restoring—courage is not only a prerequisite, but we need others who are courageous, who “strengthen their hands,” to walk with us. And together, “we rise up and (re)build.” That brings hope: so dare greatly and take courage as you rebuild.
PONDER: Is there some “rebuilding” that God wants you to be about for which you need faith to “dare greatly”?
Prayer for Courage
Give us courage, O Lord, to stand up and be counted, to stand up for others who cannot stand up for themselves. To stand up for ourselves when it is needful to do so. Let us fear nothing more than we fear thee. Let us love nothing more than we love thee, for then we shall fear nothing also. Let us have no other God before thee, whether nation or party or state or church. Let us seek no other peace but the peace which is thine, and make us its instruments, opening our eyes and our ears and our hearts, so that we should know always what work of peace we should do for thee.
—by Alon Paton, a South African author and anti-apartheid activist (1902-88).
From The Complete Book of Christian Prayer.
DISCUSSION or REFLECTION
Nehemiah had the courage to step out
and do something great. He was in the process of restoring hope to an
entire people group. Great moments, however, rarely go unopposed.
Nehemiah faced major taunting and threats from outsiders who did not
want the walls to be rebuilt. Nehemiah’s trust in God in the midst of
the threats is a testament to his faith.
Sanballat and Tobiah hated Nehemiah and the work he was doing to repair the walls of Jerusalem. They were constantly mean and threatening to him. Read Nehemiah’s response to the bullying in Nehemiah 2:20. Who did Nehemiah say was protecting him? When have you been teased or made fun of by someone else? How did it make you feel? How can Nehemiah’s response help us when others are mean to us?
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