Learning to Lead With NehemiahSample

Read Nehemiah 2 : 6 - 10

I heard a story once that always challenges me about the difference between a wish and a plan. A motivational speaker was talking to a group and encouraging them to live their dreams. He asked a volunteer what he wished for, and the man’s response was he wanted to own a Lamborghini. The speaker asked the man to come forward, close his eyes, and demonstrate to the audience how he would drive his Lamborghini when he gets it. The volunteer mimicked opening the door and getting in, and immediately the speaker stopped him and said, “You are not ready, you’re not hungry!” The door of a Lamborghini opens upward, and this volunteer demonstrated the motions of a regular car opening sideways. He desired the car but had not spent the time to think through the reality of owning a Lamborghini.

Nehemiah went beyond having a vision for rebuilding Jerusalem. He had thought through the things he would need to get to Jerusalem. I can hear him talking to his brother Hanani about wanting to go to Jerusalem and being told it would help to have a letter to the governors to guarantee his safety. He knew he would need timber and had researched the name of the person who could provide it. The level of forethought shows us Nehemiah not only prayed to God but also absolutely believed God would make a way for him to rebuild Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah understood what it meant for the gracious hand of God to grant success to seemingly impossible dreams. We understand grace is God’s unmerited favor, His supernatural ability on our ability. I think where we fail most is not giving grace anything to work on. 

People typically fall in two camps—those who only do things they are fully capable of doing in their might and with readily available resources, and those who dare to dream of accomplishing the impossible. There is something to be said for always counting the cost of what you are trying to achieve. The key is what you do with that cost. Do you abandon your dreams because the cost is too high, or do you depend on the gracious hand of God to supply what you need?

Nehemiah received favor from the King and attributed this to the gracious hand of God. That favor meant provision and safety for Nehemiah. In later chapters, we will see Nehemiah encouraging people to build because of the gracious hand of God. For him, this guaranteed the project would be successful. 

Ezra was a teacher of the law, a contemporary of Nehemiah. He also talked multiple times about the gracious hand of God! In Ezra 7:9, Ezra talks about arriving at his destination in four months. It can be inferred this journey took less time than expected. In Ezra 8, we hear his testimony of protection and of skilled resources assigned to building the temple attributed to the gracious hand of God. 

What Nehemiah and Ezra knew was their accomplishments could not be done in their strength. The gracious hand of God was the determining factor between success and failure, and they returned the glory to the One who makes the impossible possible.

Word of the Day : Grace

Develop plans to achieve your vision. Sometimes what you would like to accomplish seems impossible but a plan helps to outline how to get there. If everything you plan to do can be accomplished without stretching, you are not giving grace enough to work with! The grace of God is available to help you accomplish the impossible!