Then I arose in the
night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my
heart to do for Jerusalem. There was no animal with me but the one on which I
rode.
THE STUDY:
Still being in the “assessment”
time of the rebuilding of the wall Nehemiah is gathering information in order
to devise a plan. There are four significant things we read in this verse: it took
place at night, only a few men were involved, only Nehemiah knew what God wanted
to do, and the only animal involved was for transportation.
All four aspects mentioned
in this verse is the result of one thing: Timing!
Going out at night, with only a horse, in order to assess the situation
without drawing attention, taking only a few men with him, keeping this a
secret all deals with timing.
Nehemiah had proven
himself to be a hard worker. But hard work alone will not ensure success. It
must be the right work at the right time done in the right way. That takes
planning. Praying and trusting God does not mean that research is not
necessary. Nehemiah wanted to assess the situation before presenting his
project to the officials and the people. Specifically, Nehemiah needed to know
where to rebuild the old walls and where to construct the new one. He used only
one mount so as not to call attention to what he was doing. He did not want
opposition before he started as in Ezra 4:12. Nehemiah’s wise leadership is
evident here. Some things are better not publicized before their time.[1]
WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY
WITH ….
- We walk away this morning with the understanding that timing is everything. The right projects done at the right time in the right way for the right reason will always lead to success.
APPLICATION:
What we see
from Nehemiah is a leader who understood timing. There is a time for action and
there is a time to gather information. There is a time to inform and there is a
time to keep still. Nehemiah knew when to survey (during the night), who to
take with him, what to take on the assessment, and when to share all of this
information.
One of the
biggest mistakes we make in life is reacting to situations in the heat of the
emotion. We fall in love with a vehicle and buy it based upon emotion and not
our budget. We think we have fallen in love and react irrationally then later
deal with things unseen or unknown. We get angry or upset and say or do
something that we regret later on.
Today let Nehemiah
teach us the significance of timing. Assess:
gather information and review the finding. Recruit:
bring some trusted friends along the journey. Reserve: don’t reveal what’s in your heart at the moment. There is
a place and time for everything! Just not always right here and right now. If
you are facing a situation in your life, assess, recruit, and reserve.
Blessings my friends
Pastor Rod
[1]
Breneman, M. (1993). Vol. 10: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (electronic ed.).
The New American Commentary (179–180). Nashville: Broadman & Holman
Publishers.
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