Day 16: Rome wasn’t built in a day… and neither was Jerusalem!

But it came to pass that when Sanballat heard we were building the wall, he was furious, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they make an end in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned?” (Neh. 4:1-2)

If something seems hard to do, some will never try it. If a task seems long, many are tempted never to start it. If a project meets with opposition, many will quit rather than risk danger or even stress. Thank God, this was not Nehemiah’s response.

Admittedly, it must have looked ridiculous to the Jews as well as to their enemies to see the job after Day One: just a pile of stones here and there, just a few cartloads of trash that had been swept together. But after Sanballat and the others mocked them, we don’t hear anything about any slowdowns, or strategy sessions, or self-questioning… we only see Nehemiah praying and see the people pressing on.

The result? Nehemiah simply says, “So we built the wall.”

God, we want hearts that can persevere, hearts that cannot be discouraged. In the eyes of the world we may be feeble, but in You we are mighty. So give us a holy determination to see Your plan carried out to the fullest.