We will arise and build

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

So what did the people do when they were convinced that the hand of God was upon them?

They said ‘we will arise and build.’ But they were mocked by the opposition. In their laughter that enemy said ‘what are you doing? Are you going to rebel against the king?’ They had already said that even if they built the wall it would be so weak that a fox could knock it down.

But Nehemiah would not be rattled. “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us – we will arise and build.’

This spirit of getting up and getting to work is a spirit that God’s people of all generations need to hear. Our task is awesome. We need to be loving people and  sharing the gospel and caring for the poor and supporting the weak and doing all the things that need to be done. It's time that we get up and do it.

Paul worded it perfectly when he said that it was high time to wake up out of our sleep. We are told to ‘work while it is day.’ We are also told to ‘redeem the time.’

God’s work is serious work. People are hurting. People have needs. People need the Lord. Sure, the opposition is real, but let's remember that God’s hand is on is just like it was on the returning Jews.