MONDAY,
OCTOBER 31, 2022
TEXT:
Nehemiah 2:11-20
11.
So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.
12.
Then I rose in the night, I and a few men with me; and I told no one what my
God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no beast with me but
the beast on which I rode.
13.
I went out by night by the Valley Gate to the Jackal’s Well and to the Dung
Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its
gates which had been destroyed by fire.
14.
Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool; but there was no
place for the beast that was under me to pass.
15.
Then I went up in the night by valley and inspected the wall; and I turned back
and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned.
16.
and the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; and I had
not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest
that were to do the work.
17.
Then I said to them, “you see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in
ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we
may no longer suffer disgrace.”
18.
And I told them of the hand of my God which had been upon me for good, and also
of the words which the king had spoken to me. And they said, “Let us rise up
and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.
19.
But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arab heard of it, they derided us and despised us and said, “What is
this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”
20.
Then I replied to them, “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his
servants will arise and build; but you have no portion or right or memorial in
Jerusalem.”
(Revised
Standard Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
NEHEMIAH SOLD HIS VISION TO THE LEADERS
As soon as Nehemiah set
out to fulfill this vision for his people, opposition arose from Sanballat and
Tobiah. This is a common decimal in almost every attempt to carry out a
God-given vision. This might have fired Nehemiah the more because as soon as he
arrived Jerusalem, he went on an inspection of what lay ahead of him.
It is one thing to
envision something from afar and feel captured by it. It is yet another thing
to actually see and touch it. Nehemiah was able to share the pain and struggle
of the inhabitants of Jerusalem only after he had experienced firsthand the
state they were in.
This reinforced his
conviction and reaffirmed his vision. It empowered his passion in such a way
that when he spoke the vision to the leaders of the people, they all chorused
“let us start rebuilding.”
Never think you have a
vision let alone attempt to sell it to your team unless you have felt it,
experienced it and you are consumed by it. Otherwise, you may only be doing a
mere academic exercise. Nehemiah spoke from a heart that was consumed with what
he saw and felt.
QUESTION:
What was the last vision you shared which led to a fruitful ministry or work?
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, please give me a heart like Nehemiah and lead me to successfully
fulfill my vision, in Jesus name, Amen.
Remain
Blessed
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