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When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned.” – Nehemiah 1:4-6

Nehemiah was a Jewish exile and a highly placed official of the Persian king Artaxerxes (445 B.C.). Word came to him through a brother that the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem were in a bad way. The walls of the city were destroyed, the gates were burned, and the people were disheartened and vulnerable to attack. That news was so devastating to Nehemiah he felt deeply compelled to action. So what did he do? He prayed…for months.

Out of that season of prayer, Nehemiah acted in a remarkable way – not as a single agent for change, but a man moved by the heart of God Himself. Read Nehemiah again. I did this morning, with the workplace in mind, and came away with what follows:

1) News (whether it’s sweeping changes at work, downsizing, cultural or technological shifts) does not defeat us or define us. God is always at work. We are in the midst of the working out and recording of history (“His Story”). Just as Nehemiah recorded a first-person account of the rebuilding of the wall (and a people), what will we record as we work through our current situation?

2) Walls are providential. What we see as barriers or obstacles to how we see work should be done may be the very vehicles through which God will show Himself most powerful…through those in the workplace, maybe most affected by the obstacles and most available to Him to show Himself through us.

3) Who is the enemy? Make sure it’s not you. Nehemiah, released from his duties to the king, led the people in rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. During that work, there were the enemies of the project, the naysayers, and those who would see it done a very different way. We always think that sort of coworker is someone else. A check of your own heart to make sure it’s not you is wisdom.

4) Where is God in your situation? Who is God in your situation? You can be sure that God is in your situation because He loves you, He loves your work (even when it’s hard to imagine), and He is at work forging a future. Never lose sight of that. In fact, like Nehemiah, be fueled by that hope. God is completely able to do His will in any situation. There are no barriers, no enemies, or even no frailties on your part that alter the beautiful course of almighty God. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.

5) What is our station in the sovereignty of God? The biggest question of all: What will you do given your place in the out-working of the will of God in your situation? Nehemiah prayed…and prayed a lot…and kept praying. He acted bravely, wisely, and definitively. He humbly, as needed, and he acted boldly, as the situation demanded.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer to a Persian king, and he was a leader and builder of a broken wall…and a broken people. You can be, too.

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.               – Nehemiah 6:15-16

Nehemiah: A Leader and His Wall – Bible Study at workmatters.org

Broken Down Gates of Our Cities

Four Leadership Lessons from Nehemiah

Nehemiah: An Awesome Leader 1: A Leader Who Prayed and Prayed and Prayed

Nehemiah: An Awesome Leader 2: Building More Than a Wall

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