Nehemiah 2:13-16
Have you ever done a Chinese fire drill in a car? The one where you are stopped and everyone opens the doors, jumps out, and runs around the car and then jumps back in? If you have, you know it's complete chaos! You don't know which way the other people are going to run or if someone is going to steal your seat! How often do we treat life like that, where we just jump into a project or situation without a plan?
If you can't relate to running around a car like you are crazy, maybe you can relate to what Sarah calls Brandon’s million trips to Menards. I love doing projects around the house, but I am probably the most unqualified person to do projects around my house. No matter how long I think about what I will need for a task, Sarah knows it's going to take me 2-3 more trips to the store to complete it. I will be honest; I try and make the plans in the midst of my projects. Nehemiah made plans first! We see in today's scripture reading that Nehemiah went to the wall at night and walked around to see what he was dealing with.
By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal[a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
Nehemiah knew the task at hand was a major task, so he went at night with no one else to see what was truly going on with the walls. Verse 16 tells us he said nothing to anyone! He knew that he had to create a master plan on how he was going to lead his team to rebuild the wall.
Just like Nehemiah, when we are put in charge of a project or team. We must be able to plan so that when things get tough or challenging, we can continue to move forward because we have created a plan that will get us to the end. Notice I didn't say if things get tough, no matter what you are planning, there is going to come a time when things don't go according to plan. If you make the plans first, you will be able to stay focused on the end goal. Nehemiah’s plans to rebuild the wall faced many challenges, but he was able to remain calm and lead his team because he planned first!
Have you ever done a Chinese fire drill in a car? The one where you are stopped and everyone opens the doors, jumps out, and runs around the car and then jumps back in? If you have, you know it's complete chaos! You don't know which way the other people are going to run or if someone is going to steal your seat! How often do we treat life like that, where we just jump into a project or situation without a plan?
If you can't relate to running around a car like you are crazy, maybe you can relate to what Sarah calls Brandon’s million trips to Menards. I love doing projects around the house, but I am probably the most unqualified person to do projects around my house. No matter how long I think about what I will need for a task, Sarah knows it's going to take me 2-3 more trips to the store to complete it. I will be honest; I try and make the plans in the midst of my projects. Nehemiah made plans first! We see in today's scripture reading that Nehemiah went to the wall at night and walked around to see what he was dealing with.
By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal[a] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
Nehemiah knew the task at hand was a major task, so he went at night with no one else to see what was truly going on with the walls. Verse 16 tells us he said nothing to anyone! He knew that he had to create a master plan on how he was going to lead his team to rebuild the wall.
Just like Nehemiah, when we are put in charge of a project or team. We must be able to plan so that when things get tough or challenging, we can continue to move forward because we have created a plan that will get us to the end. Notice I didn't say if things get tough, no matter what you are planning, there is going to come a time when things don't go according to plan. If you make the plans first, you will be able to stay focused on the end goal. Nehemiah’s plans to rebuild the wall faced many challenges, but he was able to remain calm and lead his team because he planned first!
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