God is our Builder - Nehemiah 2: 1-8

As we saw in Chapter 1, God placed the burden in Nehemiah’s heart to restore the wall of Jerusalem.  Usually, when God places a burden on our heart, God intends to use us to do it.   

Nehemiah responded to this burden by praying. The real work of a believer isn’t action, but the inner work of prayer. He prayed to restore the inner wall of Israel’s relationship to God. God is the inner wall of protection that makes it possible for us to build outer walls. Our help comes from God, not our efforts.

We often think of outer construction as more important than the inner construction of a relationship to God. God’s work is more important than ours. It is far more important to have a strong relationship with God than strong outer walls. When we are in crisis, we usually put prayer last in our priorities. But a relationship with God comes first.  Haggai 1: 1-6 says:

‘This people says, “The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! You have sown much, but ^]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

Nehemiah no doubt knew Haggai’s words.  Build your heart before you build your walls.  Establish the habits of Godliness before physical protection.

One of the biggest mistakes Christians make is thinking that if we don’t work for God, God’s work won’t get done. The opposite is truer: when God works, we should get out of the way and let Him do it. Our first duty to God is to surrender, not action.  God grants us the privilege of participating in what He is doing, but God doesn’t need us to defend or protect Him. It isn’t our place to protect God, but God’s work to protect us.

Think of building the Kingdom of God like a big construction project. In our human-centric view, we see God as the architect, sitting some office hundreds of miles away. God draws up the plans, but we are the general contractors, the skilled workers and the carpenters who make the daily decisions on the project site and do the indispensable labor to get it done. God makes the plans, but we do the work.

That’s how we see it, but that’s not how God sees it. God isn’t just the architect, He is in charge on the ground. He’s the carpenter, framer, cabinet maker and painter. It’s His labor from start to finish.  The Kingdom of God isn’t a place where we display our skills, but a place where God is showing off His power. It’s His project, not ours.

So who are we? We are the day laborers, working alongside of Him, doing what we are told from day to day. We don’t have the overall blueprints. If we had them we couldn’t understand them. If God were to show you the great blueprint for your life, could you read it? God doesn’t need construction bosses who push others to work. He simply gives us guidance to work in the area He assigns us.

God gives us some commands to follow, both in our personal life and in our outer actions. Some of those commands are found in the Sermon on the Mount and in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. 

“Love your enemies.” “Be anxious over nothing.”  “Do not return evil for evil, but repay evil with good.” Do not be angry without cause.” 

He shows us that He plans to produce in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, humility, faithfulness and self-control. But He doesn’t tell us how He intends to do it. He gives us the model of the structure we will be—Jesus—but He doesn’t reveal the steps we must go through to attain it. If we knew that, we would probably panic. We know, though, that we can’t become what He wants us to become by relying on ourselves, but by trusting and following day by day.

We don’t know how He plans to change the world, either. Eventually He will reign over everything and wars will cease, sickness and poverty will be destroyed, and even death itself will be conquered. In that day we will join Him in ruling the universe! Only a fool would assume they could rule without God. So why do we think that we can rule even the smallest part of our lives without God? He must build the Kingdom, because we can’t.

Even so, God called Nehemiah to rebuild the wall. But in order to keep Nehemiah from thinking he could build it on his own, He put barriers before Him that would have made it impossible for him to do it on his own. 

The first barrier was Artaxerxes, king of Persia and Nehemiah’s immediate boss. Artaxerxes was an absolute ruler. If anyone challenged his leadership, they died. He was especially tough on his inner circle. No one dared challenge him, question him, or even ask him for a favor. All servants of his royal household were eunuchs, so they would have no family. They could make no personal requests.

  Nehemiah couldn’t ask for a leave of absence to go to Jerusalem, nor could he request a personal favor. Such requests got you killed.

Nehemiah was stuck. The king’s favor was an impossible wall that kept him from doing what he was called to do. 

When it comes to doing God’s work we experience all kinds of “stuckness.” 

I can be emotionally stuck. If God calls me to climb a mountain and I’m afraid of heights, then I’m stuck. If I am claustrophobic, I won’t go cave exploring. If I am shy, I probably won’t be a good salesman, either. If I’m called to witness to my neighbor and I’m afraid to speak, then I’m stuck, too.

I can be intellectually stuck. I’m not all that smart. I may be interested in theoretical physics, but if I got low marks in math, I would be stuck in becoming a physicist. If someone asks me to teach Sunday school and I haven’t studied the Bible in years, I may think I don’t know enough.   

I can be circumstantially stuck. Our church requires that a pastor go to school for three years, then be able to pass a presbytery examination. If I can’t drop three years of my life to full time study, and if I can’t agree with the church teachers, I can’t be a pastor in this church. I’m stuck. It requires the freedom to and the means to drop everything and devote myself to it. If I want to be a missionary in the church, I have to raise support.  f that support doesn’t come in, then I can’t go. I must accept circumstances that won’t change.

When we come to a barrier that keeps us from following what we think is God’s calling on our lives, then I must discern whether I have misread God’s calling or whether it just isn’t God’s time. God is still working on us, clearing out the barriers and helping us find our place in God’s plan. 

Barriers creates three problems for us. The first is the danger of giving up. If it seems too hard, we stop trying. With God, all things are possible.

The second danger struggling against God. God puts barriers in our lives to force us in some other direction. All things are possible, but not all things are God’s will for us as individuals. God can give me superpowers, but He isn’t likely to do it, because He doesn’t want us to have it. He put us in this world to live as human beings, not as gods. We aren’t in heaven yet, so there must be boundaries on us.

 The third danger is that we struggle to break down barriers on our own, instead of waiting for God. Suppose you are stuck in an elevator. You bang on the door, but nothing happens. You try to crowbar it open. You scream and yell, but nothing happens. Then someone with you pushes the elevator button, and it opens immediately. We are always trying to force God’s doors open by our own effort, we have to follow God’s instructions. 

Nehemiah kept trusting God. He had no money or time to build the wall and couldn’t ask for help. So he prayed day and night for God to open the door. He didn’t care who built the wall, as long as it got built, but God ultimately did it.  

Nehemiah kept humble. He obeyed the rules. He did not disrespect the king. He remained a loyal servant. The king was not his enemy, but someone God put in place to rule.

Nehemiah kept honest. He didn’t pretend to be happy, but let his feelings be known. We shouldn’t pretend everything is all right when it isn’t.  Nehemiah’s feelings showed on his face. Artaxerxes, who had learned to trust and respect Nehemiah, saw this and asked, “What’s wrong?”

When Nehemiah saw a way, he followed it. When the door opened to put forward his petition, he wasn’t shy about doing it. One word to Artaxerxes accomplished more than a decade of labor in Jerusalem. God’s will provides a way when we ask in His Spirit and trust in His power. 

One more question—if God can do it all without why does God need us at all? If he can be the architect, the general manager, the plumber, electrician and framer on the project, does He really need the laborers?  The answer is simple--He doesn’t! God doesn’t need your help, but He wants it. He loves you, and delights in our participation.

My dad was an amateur carpenter. When I got old enough, he taught me to use a hammer, drill and screwdriver. He was always careful not to let me use tools I was not ready for, but when I was ready, he delighted in teaching me. When I got older, I realized that it took him longer to do a project, because I was there than if he were working alone. I was proud to work alongside my father.

God is the same way, God enjoys us working alongside Him, not because He needs our help, but because He wants our company. God looks on us as a proud parent, delighting in the things we do.  

Unlike our parents, He isn’t preparing us to take over without His supervision. Instead, he gives us more difficult and complicated tasks, and continues to stay with us, so He can be glorified in our service. 

The ultimate result of our work is not to build projects, but to build us. If he just wanted to build things, He can do it better without us. But we are what He is building, and He is proud of His handiwork in us.