TEAM WORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK
My dad has always said that, “1% of 100 mens work is better than 100% of 1 man’s work.”. This saying has stuck with me for my entire life, and it is what comes to mind when I read through Nehemiah chapter 3.
I will be very honest with you, I had a hard time following this chapter. It’s basically addressing who did what while working on rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem. I may or may not be alone in this but if I read a chapter that is completely made up of names that I cannot pronounce, I have difficulty with staying focused. However, God is good and still gives me something to think about from whatever I read in His word.
Normally I would insert certain specific verses that I want to highlight but like I said before, this chapter is entirely made up of names and jobs so what I recommend is taking time to read this chapter on your own. This post will not be very long but I am excited to share what I have found in this chapter…
OBSERVATION 1
When there is Unity, the job is clear.
Taking this from just a literal sense where everyone puts in manual labor to help, let’s cross over to 1 Corinthians 12:15-26 where you can see this passage becomes an analogy:
15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
God placed each individual person in just the right spot for such a time as was needed. He knew exactly what He was doing, He did it with great detail and did not miss a single thing.
All these people stepped up, following in the plan of God and He took care of them by making their work very clear.
OBSERVATION 2.
Trust in Him comes with reliance on each other
Do you think that every single person in this town always got along with each other and everything was always sunshine and roses? Probably not. But in this time, they were all acting under the calling of God which means putting aside the differences they may have with each other and focusing on the task at hand. Everybody had a specific job to do and they were going to do it. They trusted God and relied on each other to put in the work that was needed.
OBSERVATION 3
The takeaway
Created by the God of relationship means you are created to rely on that relationship.
If you are in a place right now where things are unclear; where you may have been going at something for so long alone that you feel you’ve gotten nowhere. I am going to tell you the obvious, stop doing it alone! You were created by a God who delights in unity, which means there are things that YOU CANNOT HANDLE BY YOURSELF.
One day I was so overwhelmed emotionally but so much that I was trying to take on and handle by myself that I was paralyzed by the situation and had no idea on what to do other than cry out to God and ask for help. Clear as day I heard him speak to me in a comforting but firm voice…
“ I give you the strength to handle some things, but I am the one who handles ALL things. I am here to help you when you are in need, but there are some things only I can do. This is not a reflection of your weakness, it is a statement of my strength. You can rely on me to handle what you can’t. You have limits, I do not.”
I felt an enormous weight lifted off of me and could breathe. How great our God is for providing in our time of need by not only giving us the ability to handle certain things, but taking care of what we cannot.
I do not know who needs to hear this, but I hope you take it to heart and are encouraged by this.
Please remember, you have been given a job to do, but you are never expected to do it alone. Pursue Him, unify with others, and be blessed in the outcome of your obedience!