God finishes what He starts.

Footnotes

[1] 6:6 Hebrew Gashmu
[2] 6:9 Hebrew lacks O God
[3] 6:11 Or would go into the temple to save his life
[4] 7:68 Compare Ezra 2:66 and the margins of some Hebrew manuscripts; Hebrew lacks Their horses . . . 245
[5] 7:70 A daric was a coin weighing about 1/4 ounce or 8.5 grams
[6] 7:70 A mina was about 1 1/4 pounds or 0.6 kilogram
[7] 7:70 Probable reading; Hebrew lacks minas of silver

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Hannah. Wonderful devo. Great insights and summary. For me, your last paragraph really wraps it up. “Nehemiah's faithfulness and confidence that God would complete what He had started culminated in completion of the wall. There was nothing unique about Nehemiah, nothing that made him more suited for building the wall than the next guy. We often have such small ideas about how God can use us. But all He asks of us is that we not be distracted and not doubt the strength He gives us to stay up on the wall and finish the good works set before us.” Powerfully and wonderfully stated. Q1. Distraction? Almost all the work God has called me to is in discipleship and recovery ministries. He has redeemed a lifetime of addictions, codependency/enabling, and rebellion by revealing Himself to me and then redirecting my energy from coping tools to proclaiming, witnessing, and teaching, (Psalm 71:18, Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20. My primary distractions are frustrations and fatigue. I wonder why this or that person is not moving more quickly and energetically toward a deeper and more intimate relationship with Jesus. Sometimes, God lets me just sit in my self focus and pride. Other times He reminds me of my life from teenage years to age 55. Either way He soon moves me to a place of correction and redirection. Q2. Reaction to opposition and uncertainty? Usually my old self starts brainstorming about how to overcome or adapt. Again, God will often let me bang my head against the wall until I turn to Him. My go to in those times is Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 21:31, Psalm 119:105, and Hebrews 12:1-3. Q3. Again, when I’m out of self-created solutions is when I stop and turn to him. Learning the hard way…I have been able to pray first then listen. Amy has a great bumper sticker that says “pray, trust, wait”. Q4. For whatever reason God has made me an “all in” or “all out” person. A prior boss once asked me when I would drop down a few gears, slow down, and move into the slow lane. I told him I did not have those gears.

Hugh Stephenson

More and more amazing leadership lessons from Nehemiah. My copy and paste notes are almost 2,000 words. (Don’t worry. I’m not going to copy and paste the whole thing.) ;) A close friend and mentor is about my age and making the last few laps around the track in running his business. Me too. He made a point recently that I thought was important about leadership. For him, his primary job over the next few years is two fold- 1-Reinforce and maintain the culture 2-Train the younger leaders We talked at length and I came to understand that I had the same call. I’m 65 and in career year 41. I co-lead a team of 6 advisors and several admins. My key partner and I have been working on the culture for years. We think we have it pretty imbedded but are not complacent. We see challenges on nearly a daily basis. Training is our main focus. Nehemiah understood the importance of incentives. So do we. Overall, here is what I see as Nehemiah’s best attributes, (among many). -Most importantly, he knows that “failure is not an option”. This was a key to the 1970 Apollo 13 mission that went horribly wrong and had to be heroically re-engineered to bring the astronauts home safely. Here’s the movie trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtEIMC58sZo And the wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13 -------------------------------- On Nehemiah- -He prays first, waits for guidance, then acts. -He clearly articulates the vision. -He embraces the truth that “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy”. Therefore, the ability to change and adapt in mid-stride is critical. -He knows when speed is critical to keep the enemy from having time to respond. -He understands that each person has specific gifts and that they need to be in a position to use them. -He understands that he will be vigorously opposed. He anticipates it and is smart enough and skilled enough to know when he’s being- -distracted 6:1-4, -discredited, 6:5-9, -and deceived 6:10-14, (TC’s notes). “Satan still employs these three strategies as he seeks to destroy the effectiveness of spiritual leaders. One writer called them intrigue, innuendo, and intimidation.” -He understands how to use diplomacy to get along with others, even opponents if that’s possible. "Look back, once more, over the difficulties which brave Nehemiah encountered and surmounted— from without… -scorn (iv. 1-6), -force (iv. 7-23), -craft (vi. 1-19) from within… -debris (iv. 10), -fear (iv. 11-14), -greed (v. 1- 13). In each case the difficulty becomes more acute and deadly, but in each case the victory becomes more telling ..." “Note the following lessons in leadership from Nehemiah 1—6: A leader must be -a person of prayer (ch. 1), -have a vision (2:1-3), -and be a wise planner (2:4-8). He must -inspire his followers (2:11-20), -organize his task (ch. 3), -and combine faith and common sense (ch. 4). He needs to -be compassionate (5:1-13), -possess personal integrity (5:14- 19), -be absolutely impartial (ch. 5), -and display a sense of mission (ch. 6). "Nehemiah had fulfilled the role of a true leader of men—he had infused a sense of purpose into a disappointed and demoralized multitude. He had made them see that the stones which they built into the walls were more than stones, for they were symbols of reborn nationhood. It is the secret of good leadership to infuse meaning into action."

Greg Jones

Hey Hanna happy Thankful for Turkey Sandwiches Day. Really like your your deeper dive it makes a lot of sense and I can think of plenty of situations where all of it can be applicable. But, I think connecting some dots that are layered through the Bible account of Israel’s story and the relationship they have with their/our God sometimes we need lean into some of our uncertainties. Sort of combining Q’s 1&2 2. How do you react when you face repeated opposition or the pressure of uncertainty? What Scripture can you arm yourself with to strengthen your resolve when these moments come? 3. As Nehemiah faced continued opposition, he prayed, "But now, O God, strengthen my hands." (Nehemiah 6:9b) What does it look like for you to cry out to God during times of doubt or uncertainty? And because it complicated to explain why you should lean into uncertainty answering in the following way. Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak arose and began to rebuild the house of God that is in Jerusalem, and the prophets of God were with them, supporting them. Ezra 5:1-2 The whole assembly together was 42,360, besides their male and female servants, of whom there were 7,337. And they had 245 singers, male and female. Their horses were 736, their mules 245, their camels 435, and their donkeys 6,720. Nehemiah 7:66-69 Build it and they will come. All those horses mules camels and donkeys and there could be a parking problem. God has a plan. And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, “Run, say to that young man, ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst.’” Zechariah 2:1-5 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them Open your scrolls first to Nehemiah 4:4-6 and somebody read Nehemiah’s prayer. Good Now skip over to Nehemiah 5:1-5 and somebody read out loud about the hungry folks in debt. Excellent Now read Nehemiah’s next prayer about the debts and the debt holders Nehemiah 5:6-7. Oops your right. There isn’t a prayer there. It doesn’t say all that part in Luke 11. I wish it did because it would go along way in explaining what is going on in Nehemiah, the wall, Zechariah’s vision, and the Matthew version of the Lord’s Prayer which goes like this. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:9-15 I think Nehemiah was sure he got the wall right. I think Jesus thought he got the wall wrong. I think Nehemiah got forgiving those debts right. I think Jesus thought he got forgiving those debts right. I think Jesus noticed when Nehemiah prayed and when he didn’t. What he’s saying about that I’m uncertain. I’m confident he’s not teaching to not pray. Great devotional. Confident in this. “But we're likely doing work that God has called us to, and that work is not without its moments of opposition and doubt.” And, that, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Michael Scaman

Looks like they made the walls before the houses The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. It was smart to take some practical steps like' shut the gates until the sun if hot'

Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Hannah. When I read " The priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all the rest of Israel lived in their cities," I thought about what it meant to experience the restoration of the temple worship which would have meant a return to normal. Yesterday, between TV and social media, I saw lots of pictures of parades and people gathered in stadiums--OUR post-pandemic "return to normal." So much joy! Thank You Lord!!

Amy Lowther

1. A distraction might be something is unknown to me or something seems “off” because I have never seen it before. Prayer before, during, and after distractions can keep me faithful to do what is best. 2. My reaction depends on how necessary things are which face me. God is ALWAYS a great helper in every situation. Scripture of reference for handling opposition or pressure of uncertainty would be Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” 3. I usually step away, consider how God would handle things, and then I return to the original situation if it still exists. 4. It would be best to show respect for God because life is hard without Him.

Jason Cromwell

Does anyone know or have info if that's Esther's Mordecai in Chapter 7:7? Just cool to think about. We live in a world with a billion distractions, even if you're not married with kids, like constant notifications on our phones.