The hand of our God

Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king's words that he had spoken to me. 
So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they laughed at us and despised us, and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Will you rebel against the king?”
So I answered them, and said to them, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem.” – Nehemiah 2.17-20

I can't imagine how it must have felt for these folks to return to Jerusalem. Their parents and grandparents would have told them of the great city and the beautiful Temple. They must have thought ‘we are going home’ and everyday looked westward to get their first glimpse.

Then, there it was. Jerusalem lies waste and her gates are burned with fire.

It could have been a desperate time. The people could have been so discouraged that they gave up or maybe even when back to Babylon.

But Nehemiah stepped to the fore. ‘Come, let us build the wall. The hand of God is upon us and we have the support of King Artaxerxes.’

They faced what looked like an impossible task. And even with the king’s support it was a daunting task. More than that however they were empowered and strengthened by the hand of God and that is all the help they would need.

Our world today reminds me of what Jerusalem must have looked like. It is in spiritual ruins. Our task looks impossible. What can we do to reach this wicked world?

It is a wonderful thing to know that we have the same hand of God on our efforts today. As we go out to serve Him we don’t do it in our own power.

We need not be afraid or intimidated or daunted or put off by our task. God’s hand is with us. We are not alone.