When Strength is Failing

The people said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.” - Nehemiah 4:10

The infrastructure of the ancient city of Jerusalem had been destroyed by foreign armies, and the process of rebuilding was massive. The book of Nehemiah tells the tale - and it’s not pretty. Reconstruction is not an easy process. And it wasn’t just the walls he was rebuilding.

In that same chapter Nehemiah realized that many of the leaders of his own people were working against the very process of rebuilding the city. For economic and political gain, they were sabotaging the cause.

In our journeys to rebuild cities, neighborhoods, lives, and even our own faith, there are a lot of obstacles - to the point where we can feel like our strength is giving out.

Nehemiah confronted the injustices, faced down both the internal and external threats, and kept moving forward. (Read the whole book - it’s amazing). Is there an issue that touches you personally where you feel overwhelmed, where there’s a systemic force working against goodness (meaning, there is injustice) or where your own internal strength is failing? Name that to God (that’s Nehemiah’s first step), be prepared to do even more hard work at confronting injustice, and be ready to do your own internal work of self-care as well.

And ask yourself about your personal faith journey - it’s not that different after all! As you reconstruct your spiritual life, what are the enemies from within and from without? What would it look like to pray about those things and to confront them? What are steps towards self-care that will keep you in the game for the long haul?