We Do the Work. God Gets the Glory.

“So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.” – Nehemiah 6:15-16 NLT

Against overwhelming odds and facing intense opposition, Nehemiah and the people continued to work on the walls of Jerusalem, and just 52 days after they began – they finished. This rag-tag group of returned exiles were able to accomplish a project of herculean proportions, a job that should have taken years even under the best of circumstances. And when the last brick was put on the wall, the enemies of Judah were frightened and demoralized. Why? Because they knew that God had been involved in this project. There was no other explanation. They had done everything in their power to stop the work, but it continued unabated. They had tried their hardest to discourage Nehemiah and the people of Judah from finishing their work. But they failed. And they knew that it was because God had been a part of the entire process. They could recognize that the completion of the wall in just 52 days was the result of divine intervention. This had been no ordinary construction project.

On how many occasions does our work bring God glory? Do the projects we take on reflect the power of God or simply our own initiative and self-sufficiency? God is always about revealing His glory through His people. He wants to show His power in the midst of our weakness. He wants to display His might through us as we accomplish His will. God is not interested in seeing what we can do. He is not impressed with our strength and organizational abilities. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to be organized or do our part. But we always have to remember, that at the end of the day, when all is said and done, God is the one who should receive the glory. The rebuilding of the wall was God’s idea. He had predicted it long in advance through the words of Daniel (Daniel 9:25). God had arranged for the people to return. He had led Nehemiah to request permission from King Artaxerxes to lead a group of exiles back with the sole purpose of rebuilding the walls. God had protected and provided for them all along the way. And now the work was done. Yes, the people had worked hard. They had the sore muscles, aching backs and blistered hands to prove it. But all their efforts would have been nothing without the help of God, and even their enemies knew it. Nehemiah had led well, orchestrated the work of the people flawlessly and encouraged their efforts successfully, but without God, none of it would have mattered.

We do the work. God gets the glory. That’s the way it’s intended to be.

Father, never let me forget that it is only through You that anything worth accomplishing gets done. You are my strength. You are the one who makes the impossible possible. You give me all that I need to do all that You want me to do. And when it is done, You get the glory. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org