Topping Off The Walls

We live in an era where people start new things every day, but rarely do they complete them. In contrast, Jesus was a finisher. He had a tough assignment, but he followed it through to the end. Nehemiah was a finisher. He could have quit halfway through the rebuilding project when threats were coming from every direction, but he finished strong. God has something amazing for each one of us, but many of us could miss it with excuses that keep us from topping off the walls.

The opposition found out that Nehemiah was making incredible progress in rebuilding the walls. His enemies were nervous. They tried to set up a meeting with Nehemiah to slow things down. In Nehemiah 6:3 he replied with this message, “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working and come meet with you.” They kept texting him to meet, but he kept working despite distractions.

After our church started construction we soon found out we had hired a shady contractor. We fired him and hired a new contractor from our church. We first met him in the juvenile detention center. No, he didn’t work there; he was an inmate we ministered to. When he got out he started attending our church. At just eighteen years old he started growing spiritually and started his own construction company. Fast forward five years, and we inked the deal with twenty-three-year-old Francisco Diaz and Heaven Sent Construction. He was truly heaven-sent as he took on this forty-three thousand square foot rebuilding project. Francisco got new bids from his subcontractors and saved us nearly $700,000.

Nehemiah’s enemies tried to stop him through discord, discouragement, distraction, defamation, and danger. But because Nehemiah held the opposition in check, he completed the walls in just fifty-two days. Our church had many obstacles throughout the physical rebuilding process. Towards the end, we ran out of money, and our contractor Francisco stepped up and loaned us the remaining $200,000 to finish the rebuilding. Remember, just five years earlier we met him in the juvenile prison when we led him to Christ. You never know what God will do with others that you help rebuild. Rebuilding is never just about you.

Rebuilding Blocks For Today:

1. What is a wall in your life that you haven’t been able to top off? What can you do differently to get there?
2. What is a project that your church or small group has only half-completed? What steps can you take together to finish building?