Mind to Work

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Nehemiah 4:6 (KJV) So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.

What it is speaking to me:

Halfway. That's where the wall stood. Nobody was cheering at the halfway point. There was still a lot of mess and a lot of stones left to lift back into place.

Nehemiah doesn't say the people were especially gifted, well funded, or even divinely inspired. The reason the wall got to the halfway mark is that they "had a mind to work." That's it. They decided to do the job, and then they kept doing it. Chapter 4 makes that more impressive, since the people were being mocked, threatened, and worn out while they built.

You ever had a project you'd call God-given? Things you felt pretty sure you were supposed to start, and did start, and then let sit.

I have. I didn't quit. I just got busy, or tired, or I waited for a better week. The better week never showed up, and the project sat there like half a wall.

Big things rarely get built by one great burst of energy. They get built by people who keep showing up, even on days when it feels ordinary and only a little progress is made. Loving God with our strength often looks less like huge gains in one day and more like laying just one more stone. Just decide to do the job, and then keep doing it.

What is it saying to you?

• What God-given project have you stalled on?

• Is it really that the task is too big, or have you just lost your mind to work on it?

• Who around you is counting on that wall getting built, whether they know it or not?

• What would "a mind to work" look like this week, in real terms and not in theory?

What are we going to do about it?

Pick one stalled project and put 30 minutes toward it today. Not tomorrow, and not when things calm down. Set a timer, do the next small thing.