Nehemiah 4:14
“And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Nehemiah is a great example of how God can use our lives to not only bless the people around us, but to change the destiny of an entire nation. He knew it was time to take action, to commit to the cause, and to motivate others to complete a difficult and important task. Our job these 52 days is to speak to those around us and get them involved in the important task of rebuilding Bogota’s wall. We will take part in this by praying for the future and well-being of our city, and voting for the right people God has chosen for this time.

LET’S GO DEEPER

1. WORK WITH ENTHUSIASM
“At last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.” (Nehemiah 4:6 NLT).

After obtaining the king’s favor for his trip to Jerusalem, Nehemiah knew that his time was limited. He had to move quickly so that the rebuilding of the wall could be completed in a short amount of time. He knew he only had 52 days to accomplish his goal which meant he couldn’t afford to lose even a moment. He worked night and day to achieve his goal, and did not grow weary or stop until he accomplished what he had proposed. From the beginning, Nehemiah understood that to accomplish what no one had conquered for many years he’d have to keep the people’s spirits high. Because he kept the people motivated, they were able to advance to the midpoint of their great conquest.

Today you must strengthen yourself in the Lord and in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10). Do not accept the discouragement that the enemy has wanted to bring through different circumstances; the Father is by your side as a Mighty Giant to defend you.

2. OVERCOMING THE ENEMIES

When they had advanced towards their goal of conquest, the enemy tried to rise up and steal their strength and courage. He tried to fill them with fear to remove them from their divine purpose. “Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.” (Nehemías 4:10).
He tried to bring discouragement ” …the strength of the laborers is failing…”
He tried to steal their vision “… there is so much rubbish…”
He tried to bring hopelessness “… we are not able to build the wall”.

Nehemiah knew that God had called him to do a complete work and that he couldn’t let the enemy’s mockery stop them. So he gathered the people by families and they began to work as a team; while some built, others watched and motivated them to pray and not fear. “Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses” (Nehemiah 4:13-14).

It was necessary for the people to stay in a good mood and work with Nehemiah at all times, even to the point of not changing their clothes and undressing themselves only to bathe. This is one way everyone worked on the wall and nobody deviated from the vision.

CHALLENGE

Nehemiah teaches us what to do as we set out to conquer: pray for every obstacle and all opposition to be removed from the middle. In doing so, we will finish successfully as we believe that the blood of Jesus has given us complete victory.

This week, get involved in the prayer-clock of your ministry. Remember that we are all building an important part of Bogota’s wall. Talk to your leader to join this sublime task.