Rise Up And Stay With It
Heeeeeeey!!!! It’s me. I’m back for our sermon recap. Man, I missed ya’ll. This past week was truly one for the books for me and not in a good way. I was gruuuuumpy! And irritable. And really over people. And over work. I was too through. Now, no one had done anything to me. I was just out of sorts. Thankfully, I got over the hump. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Every Sunday, my pastor has a word that speaks directly to my life. I truly believe that having a covering makes a world of difference. This Sunday, we journeyed to Nehemiah 7 and received encouragement to stay in the race.
As Nehemiah 7 opens, we find that the wall has been completed. The doors have been hung. Gatekeepers have been appointed. Singers and Levites have been assigned to their post. Nehemiah’s assignment is completed, right? Not exactly. Although the walls are up and look amazing, the inside of the city has few people, and the houses are not rebuilt. Anyone passing by would be fooled by the splendor of the wall. They would offer congratulations for a job well done. However, Nehemiah is aware that there is work that needs to be done on the inside. He makes the choice to rebuild what outsiders cannot see beyond the walls.
As we have gone on the journey with Nehemiah, we have seen that building the wall was not an easy feat. Neither is staying committed to working on the inside that others cannot see. Often times, we muster up the strength to say the right things to the right people. Even when it goes against what we are really thinking. Even when it goes against what we really want to say. How do we mature to the point that our inner thoughts line up with the persona we have perfected over the years? How do we truly stick with working on our broken-down insides?
Nehemiah gives us a practical tip. He knew that he could not do the work on his own. And neither can we. Nehemiah partnered up with faithful people to help him continue the work. He calls on Hanani and Hananaih, men who were faithful and feared God more than many. What people do you have in your life that you can call on to partner up in the work of staying committed to Christ? It is difficult to stay in the game if you are in the game alone. We have to surround ourselves with people that are spiritually grounded. Having people in my life that love the Lord made a difference for me this week. The crazier that I talked, the more they pointed me towards sound decisions. While they gave me the opportunity to share my frustrations, fears, and concerns, they didn’t let me stay in that place. They encouraged me to continue on with the Lord.
The decision to stay with the Lord, and our assignment, is not always easy. It is much easier to hide behind our Christian facades and much more difficult to work on the hidden parts of us. God wants us to stick with it. He wants us to stay with it. When we do, He builds up the holy parts within us and makes us a sight to behold-on the inside AND the outside. #wepreach
