Introduction

There is something very human about the need to pursue and conquer impossible things. But life is rarely easy, and disappointment can drain the life of our dreams and aspirations–especially the God-given ones. We see this play out in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah where the promises of God appear to be ransacked, and it falls to broken, disappointed people to maintain faith in a time when faith was costly.

When the book opens up, Nehemiah is living in the Persian empire as a result of the Babylonian exile of the Jews, and his life is relatively calm. He isn’t a soldier. He isn’t a craftsman. He works in the King’s service. His job is easy. Then one day, a messenger from Jerusalem shows up with a report of the condition of Nehemiah’s hometown—5th century B.C. Jerusalem. And everything changes.

The city is in ruins, her walls and protection in pieces. Without gates, a city is defenseless and at the mercy of everyone around it. That was especially true of Jerusalem who was never short on enemies.  And her people were doing very little about it. But the condition of the city wasn’t just an issue for the adults. There was a generation present who had become disillusioned with their families' ideas of God. 

If you were a kid in that town, you were probably getting a little skeptical every time you heard about the exploits of God. God helped Joshua to play a trumpet and win the battle of Jericho. He helped Moses to raise his staff and divide the Red Sea. And He helped David to kill Goliath with a stone and sling. So why wasn’t He helping to restore their broken city and people?

Either the people had lived in those conditions for so long that they didn’t see how bad things were anymore, or they had lived in those conditions for so long that they couldn’t imagine how anything would ever change. I think we all can relate. Impossible circumstances are all around us, and the temptation to ignore them can be strong. But we see over and over throughout scripture that God uses impossible circumstances to prove His faithfulness and strength to us. And when we choose to ignore situations that look impossible, we are also choosing to ignore the work of God. He is the way-maker. Impossible circumstances are His proving ground. And when we are blind to the truth of what’s going on in individuals, families, and communities as a whole, we risk missing what He’s doing—and what He’s calling us to do with Him.