Nehemiah 3 – February 15
Between Nehemiah 2 and Nehemiah 4—two thrilling, moving chapters—we have Nehemiah 3 which is neither moving nor thrilling. Why in the world do you think God directed this portion of Scripture to be exactly where it is? Well, I’m sure there are more, deeper reasons than we will ever know, but one reason I think I do know is because God doesn’t want us to become too caught up with thrill. That’s not to say God is “boring”; He’s anything but! It is simply to say that we ought to beware of seeking thrill and entertainment out of the Christian walk.
Rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem was probably a very exciting, scary, emotion-intensifying idea… at first. I wonder how excited the masses were when Nehemiah started separating them into groups and assigning various tasks. I wonder how excited they were 3 days later when he was still doing the same thing! It’s sort of like us reading this chapter—by the time we reach verse 28 talking about the Horse Gate, well, we’re a little bored, deflated, burned out.
Here’s the thing, though, God never promises exciting. God never promises that life as a Christian will be one thrill after another. In fact, if anything, He shows it to be slow, tedious, painful and full of sacrifice (Luke 9:23). Not to break into people’s business too much, but sometimes people leave Smyrna for various churches that are more “exciting.” Guess who they come back to when they need actual spiritual help such as marriage counseling or discipleship for their children? You guessed it—18971 Carson Rd, Dinwiddie VA, 23841.
See, my friends, people don’t want tedious, people don’t want painful, people don’t want sacrifice. They want a high, a rush. Just like a drug-induced high, they will be left the same as they were before, in need of a fix, but this time with one more link in their chain of bondage. I can tell them one thing: you won’t find a high at the cross. You’ll find suffering and shame. Let this devotion be a plea for plodding people. People who stick with Nehemiah 3, even though it’s as boring as watching paint dry, because they know Nehemiah 4 is coming. People who run the race, endure their cross, for the joy set before them. What this world needs, what this church needs, isn’t exciting, thrill-seeking, entertainment-producing Christians. This world—this church—needs Christians willing to tough it out through the muck and mire. Willing to do the hard work, the painful work, even when they won’t get an award afterwards. We need Christians who don’t mind boring. Our job as pastors isn’t to keep you entertained (though this devotion is NOT an excuse to be a boring preacher!). Nonetheless, if entertainment is what you’re seeking from us, then we will fail you. I’ll spare you the pain and tell you upfront, you won’t get that from us. What will you get from us, I hope? Continual feeding and nurturing from God’s Word. An incessant returning to the cross day in and day out, confessing our need and finding grace to keep going, all the while urging you on along with us.
I don’t come to church to party and have a great time (though I often have a great time). I come to church because I would die without it. Because I see how fragile my soul is and how badly I need encouragement from my brothers and sisters in the faith. Let’s resolve not to come to church for the next thrill. Let’s resolve to come to church, and to read our Bibles, because we delight in obeying Christ and pursuing Him, hand in hand with our true family, with every ounce of energy we’ve got. Now that’s a thrill.