Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, ‘The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us.’” Nehemiah 4:16-20

The challenges of enemies and opponents had forced Nehemiah to maintain a ready defense force at all times. He had to enlist his workers to be that defense force which reduced his production.

But, Nehemiah knew two things: He could depend on God to fight with them and he knew he was still making progress. He had the last laugh by maintaining persistent forward progress.

He never allowed the Israelites to lose momentum. Even if they had slowed down, he didn’t let the work come to a halt. They kept moving forward. They kept getting the wall built. Every day was a day closer to success.

Persistent forward progress accomplished the task despite steep challenges. Don’t let yourself be stopped. Just keep moving forward in God’s will and you will arrive precisely where you need to be.

These books document the waves of Israelites returning after their exile from the land God had originally promised to them. Each project required leadership and an obedient heart to find success in very challenging circumstances. The simplest of things are demonstrated, but have irresistible success. In Nehemiah 3, a list is given of who is working to rebuild what part of the wall around Jerusalem. By giving authority and responsibility to trusted leaders all around the city, Nehemiah created a team that could work in parallel rather than depending on him to direct all of the work crews throughout the city. By giving them authority and recognition, he achieved much greater efficiency. He didn’t care who got the credit as long as God’s will was done.

Now, of course, each of those men and their charges absolutely had to have one important quality:

“So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” Nehemiah 4:6

If you are a leader with a large task, find trustworthy people to delegate to. You can’t do it all yourself. It sounds easy until the time comes to do it. It means letting go of things that you assume can only be done right by you. I’ll say it again, you can’t do it all.

If you are one of those being given authority as a delegate, have a mind to work. Furthermore, you need to find how to motivate your team to have the same mind. It starts when you lead by example. If you have a desire to be responsible for more, prove how responsible you can be with a little. Do the best you can with what you have. God will take care of the rest.

These rules apply when considering your role as husband, friend, manager, employee, and servant of God. Consider them well.

- Read Job 13:11-19
“Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless man would dare come before him!”

- Observe
Job offers another proof of his righteousness: he WANTS God to speak to him. A man with secret sin would not dare go to God. How about me? Do I long to go to God about my problems and trials and questions? Or, do I prefer to handle them myself and just muddle along as best I can?

- Do
Ask God to nudge me when I fall back into “muddling along” mode.

- Share

- Read Job 13:1-10
“He would surely rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality.” Job 13:10

- Observe
By insisting that Job has some secret sin, his friends are sitting in judgment between God and Job and showing partiality toward God. This is unjust, and Job points out that a just God would rebuke them for it. Why do they feel the need to sit in judgment anyway? In the past, I have worked with men who were learning about what the Bible teaches for the first time. Sometimes, a man would conclude wrong things and I would be tempted to jump in and correct him. But, God prompted me to be silent. As I listened, the man worked his way around to the truth and corrected himself, because the Holy Spirit was at work within him. This happened on multiple occasions with more than one man.

- Do
In every situation, ask God what to say… if anything.

- Share

- Read Job 12:13-25
“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.”

- Observe
Job notes that God is both the source and controller of both wisdom and power. The wise and the powerful can become confused and weak in an instant. God gives wisdom and power, and God takes away wisdom and power. We are all completely dependent on God for both wisdom and power, counsel and understanding.

- Do
Ask God to allow you to keep your current wisdom and power. THEN ask Him for more.

- Share

- Read Job 12:1-12
“I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called upon God and he answered — a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!”

- Observe
When did Job call upon God and get an answer? This must be a reference to something earlier in Job’s life. This is a very unusual event. Even Abraham never called upon God. (God always started the conversation.) In spite of this clear earlier sign of God’s favor, in spite of Job’s declarations that he has not sinned, in spite of their ability to name a sin that Job is guilty of, Job’s friends insist that Job has sinned. They refuse to allow evidence to change their long-held belief that only the wicked suffer.

- Do
Hold your beliefs tightly. Give God permission to correct your beliefs. Better yet, take advantage of the righteousness of Jesus to allow you to go to God with any of your beliefs that are being questioned and check with Him that you are believing correctly. If God says that you are believing correctly, then you can hang on to your belief with confidence that it is right.

- Share

- Read Job 11:10-20
“If you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,” Job 11:14

- Observe
Zophar refers to sin in Job’s life, but there was none. God Himself had declared that. Zophar had not heard God’s declaration, and was clearly speaking his own words, not God’s words.

- Do
Ask God what to say before you speak today (1 Peter 4:10)

- Share

- Read Job 11:1-9
“Will your idle talk reduce men to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock?” Job 11:3

- Observe
Apparently, there was a lengthy silence after Job’s speech in chapter 10. Then Zophar opens his mouth and sticks his foot in it by insulting Job. What was Zophar thinking? Did he think that insulting Job would distract him from his pain and suffering? I don’t think so. Based on my own failures in this area, I think that all thoughts of comforting Job went out the window when Job challenged one of Zophar’s core beliefs about God.

- Do
Do not let anger at wrong beliefs chase out love for your friends (and enemies). Ask God for help in this area.

- Share

Start serving others.

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4

If you are finding anxiety in a situation like I describe, then you may be suffering from nothing more than an attack of narcissism. It’s time to set your own interests aside and serve someone else. Suddenly, you’re not thinking about what you deserve. You’re thinking about what you can give.

I guarantee your joy will increase. I can almost guarantee your anxiety will decrease. In any case, it is the will of God. You should be doing it anyway!

- Read Job 10:13-22
“If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my sin go unpunished” Job 10:14

- Observe
Job truly believed this to be true. As a result, he was “a man who fears God and shuns evil.” God held him up to Satan as an example of how right God was to let men live. Job had a very severe view of God, but the result was right behavior. But Job was rare. Most men did not have this level of right behavior in their lives. So, God took a different tack, became human, sacrificed Himself as payment for our wrong behavior, and then offered His right behavior as a gift to anyone who would admit their need and accept His gift.

- Do
Praise God for His right behavior. Give up trying to be right and humbly accept God’s gift through Jesus Christ our Lord.

- Share