A Mind To Work

   We are involved in a little building project at our church, and are made more excited with every completed step. As things start to take shape, I am often reminded of one of the great building projects of the Bible. One of the last events that took place in the Old Testament era (early 5th century B.C.), was the rebuilding of the city walls around Jerusalem. Israel’s captivity to the Babylonians had ended and they had gentler masters, the kings of Persia. An envoy of dedicated Jews was allowed to return to Jerusalem to aid in a rebuild effort already begun. The next order of business was the massive city wall.

   After the project was begun, Nehemiah reports, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6). It is amazing what can be accomplished when the people have “a mind to work.” But their advancements were not without opposition. The workers on the wall were ridiculed, they fought discouragement, greed among themselves, and traps of deceit from without. In spite of it all, the walls were miraculously finished in fifty-two days, an accomplishment that is pretty impressive even by modern industrial standards.

  It is utterly amazing what can be accomplished when people have a mind to work. Of course what is accomplished by the people is only the concerted effort of individuals. God created man with a will. He insists on our making decisions. On a daily basis, we are confronted with physical, spiritual and emotional decisions. For those who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, it is a daunting task at the least. For those of us who have been made the children of God by faith in Christ, “You can do what you ought to do.” We are surrounded by the rubbish of the crumbling walls built by godly forefathers. There is much work to be done in rebuilding the walls. What we desperately need, is A Mind To Work!