Meeting threats, doomsayers, and whiners

This week's old-skool goodness is Nehemiah 4:7-23:

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall."

Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."

Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."

Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!"

So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. At that time I also said to the people, "Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day." Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

I've taught on these verses before, I think, but that doesn't make their practicality any less awesome. Nehemiah was a man of God, sent to undertake a very dangerous mission. He was in charge of a task force of men who were going to rebuild the walls around a city, in a region where there were no protective troops, no police coverage, and no allies to call upon in case of trouble.

In the record of Nehemiah's work in rebuilding, he's threatened a few times, and even has his friends and countrymen turn against him. He doesn't respond with panic or violence, like most people would. But he doesn't respond all "spiritually" either, like many Christians would. He looks the problem in the face, does all he can do, and trusts God to take care of the rest.

It's easy to break down in the face of adversity. That's what adversity wants. You can get in a war, or quit, or stay up all night stressing out. Those are easy things to start, even if they're not all that much fun. Everyone wanted Nehemiah to do those things, but he did none of them. He simply posted guards, did what he could, and asked God to take care of what he couldn't.

It's also easy to get all spiritual when in the face of trouble. A lot of people just assume God is going to take care of everything, without doing anything themselves. They're not owning their place in the problem. They're crying out to God in a voice of laziness, not a voice of genuine need. They say God is going to take care of things, because that's what sounds good. That's what they're supposed to say. But they have no reason to believe it without knowing him and his plans for the situation. God isn't here to coddle us, but to guide our improvement in our roles as his living eternal beings.

There is peace in knowing you've done all you can do. Even if it's a tiny tiny bit, you've defined your limits and made yourself stronger. If God's role was to coddle us as children, nobody would plant crops. We would sit naked on the ground, and God would drop food and water into our mouths from heaven. A lot of us seem to want that, even if we won't come out and say it. There are some problems we cannot possibly hope to solve on our own, but that's where asking for God's help is genuine. There is peace in knowing that where your strength fails, God is ready and willing to take it the rest of the way.

Nehemiah participated in his life. He realized that solving the problem of marauders attacking his city was no different than the problem of rebuilding the walls. It was a job that could at least partially be done with the strength and ingenuity God had given him. If he was going to ask God to protect them without even lifting a finger to take care of that part of the process, he might as well have asked God to put the walls back together himself while he and his men sat on the ground eating cheese doodles and napping.

God likes to see what we can do, even if it's pathetic, before he takes over. It's like a parent watching their kid take one or two steps before catching them as they trip and fall. It's like the feeding of the multitudes in the new testament, where Jesus wanted to see what the disciples had, before multiplying its feeding power. He didn't just snap his fingers and make manna like he could have.

Even in what Nehemiah could have done himself, like posting a guard, God's role was still important. They still prayed. That's where the peace comes from. He'd taken care of the known and the unknown by working in concert with God.

Next time you have a problem, work with God to grow through it. As weak as you are, God is strong. We're perfected through the hardships we face. We should welcome the opportunity to partner with God in our growth.