A bad trap I have often fallen into is thinking I have to do it all. I can’t count the number of times people have offered me their unconditional aid and I still tried to do everything myself, even when I knew I needed help. Have you ever found yourself in the exact same position?
From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.”
Nehemiah 4:16-20, ESV
When Nehemiah went to Jerusalem, he knew the walls would have to be rebuilt. Without the walls, anyone working on rebuilding the city and especially the Temple would be easy pickings for attackers. And There were powerful people who didn’t want to see Jerusalem restored. They even set aside any differences they may have had and plotted together to slip in and attack the workers who were rebuilding the walls.
Learning of the plot, Nehemiah developed a plan. Half of the workers would focus on the rebuilding work but they’d be armed. The other half would be waiting for an attack, equipped to repel it, and help with the rebuilding as they could. To ensure the ones who were guarding would fulfill their role, he put them among their own families (v. 13). This must have taken an incredible amount of planning, coordination, and equipping. Weapons and armor had to be distributed, work assignments had to be defined. Where each clan was working had to accounted for. This is in addition to the planning and execution of the work of clearing the rubble and rebuilding the walls to their proper height and strength. It was all an incredible effort. Surely that was enough, right?
It wasn’t. Note verse 20. The last sentence is plain, “Our God will fight for us.” Nehemiah didn’t think all of the efforts of men were the deciding factor. He didn’t shirk any of the preparedness tasks, but he also didn’t put his faith in them. His faith was in God to deliver the final result. If combat occurred, he was going to place his trust in God to carry the day, regardless of Nehemiah’s planning and preparedness. This is something Paul echoed as well:
For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
1 Corinthians 1:17, ESV
Paul understood his primary purpose: to preach the Gospel. But even though that was the task assigned to him by God, he made it clear that a reliance on his own abilities was wrong. God didn’t need Paul to be a master orator. God had all the power. That was the whole point of the Cross. Paul just needed to be faithful, to trust God, to be obedient. God didn’t actually need Paul. He chose to work through Paul. Paul understood this well.
It is important that we understand that when God calls us to do something we should be relying on Him the whole time. We should also prepare the best we can, but our preparations aren’t where the power is. The power is with God. He can and will use our preparations as needed, so we ought not neglect them, but we are never preparing alone. We are always preparing alongside of God. We are relying on him to fight the battle, solve the situation, overcome the adversity, or whatever phrase we’d like to use.
Another way to look at it is rather freeing. We are called to do our part, but no more. Everything doesn’t rest on our shoulders. God asks us to be faithful and let Him work. We aren’t the miracle workers; He is. If things look like they are going the wrong direction, we need to check that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, but beyond that it’s all on God. If we try and take on God’s part ourselves, we are unwisely burdening ourselves with a load He never intended us to carry. Prepare, absolutely. But more importantly, trust and depend on God. Scripture is filled with example after example of people who did just that. That’s what God expects of us. Even Jesus modeled depending on the Father. Don’t try and take everything on yourself. It’s not what He wants.
Be Encouraged Devotionals 