I Am Doing a Great Work
“And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”Nehemiah 6:3 (KJV)
Every work has a season where you want to quit. The numbers are bad, the people are hard, the end is nowhere in sight. If the only reason you started was the money, you would walk away on the second bad day.
Nehemiah was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem when his enemies tried to lure him away. His answer was simple: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”
He knew why he was there. The walls were not a project. They were for the people and for God’s name. That why kept him on the wall when everything else said come down.
Before the next hard season hits, write down why your work exists. Who does it serve? What does it do that matters to God? When you want to quit, read it again.
Read it yourself
Read Nehemiah 6:1–9. What did Nehemiah pray when his enemies tried to make him afraid?
Why does your work exist, beyond the paycheque? Could you write it in one sentence?
Lord, remind me why you have me where I am. Keep me on the wall when I want to come down. Amen.