Sunday, July 6, 2014

Fortitude

Fortitude
July 7, 2014

Nehemiah 6:15  "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days."

Nehemiah was a man who cared deeply about his God, his people, and his homeland.  He was loyal and faithful and bold.  The fortified walls of his hometown were in shambles and his heart ached because of the destruction.  True, they were just walls but they represented so much more to his people and he understood this.  The walls represented solidarity, steadfastness, and security.  But they had been torn apart during battle.  Nehemiah had in mind to repair the walls.  He rallied support and with solidarity and steadfastness, he began to rebuild the security of the walls.  His project was not without obstacles, however.  There were many who were intent on seeing Nehemiah fail in his endeavors.

Nehemiah was up against ridicule, intimidation and threats, even sabotage.  Not only did Nehemiah have to solicit volunteers for the construction, he had to motivate his volunteers through the obstacles.  It took fortitude to press onward in the project.  Many would have seen the obstacles and become disheartened, even ceased working.  But Nehemiah had fortitude.  He marched onward in his efforts.  He envisioned the goal despite the obstacles and with boldness he finished the task.  He didn't even allow the obstacles to slow his pace.  Swiftness and deliberate could describe his movements, even through adversity.  Some of his volunteers suggested quitting, but Nehemiah did not let that discourage him.  Nehemiah was the epitome of fortitude.

The Bible describes all of Nehemiah's obstacles with detail and finishes the successful rebuilding project with a time-stamp.  October 2nd (in today's terms) was the finishing day, with a total of fifty two days for the entire elapsed time of construction.  Some translations of the Bible say the project took "only" fifty two days, suggesting it was quite an accomplishment given the enormity of the task and severity of road blocks.  Nehemiah was quite the leader to press forward in his task with such fortitude, not allowing anything to deter him from his goals.  It was not easy but Nehemiah was successful.

Unlike Nehemiah, most of us let the obstacles of life deter us from success.  We get hindered when the going gets tough, slowing our pace and keeping us from our goals.  With abandonment we set aside our vision for the future in exchange for the doldrums of normalcy.  Satan uses obstacles to derail us from our path in life to keep us from the success the Lord intends.  While I will not suggest it is easy to press forward with fortitude, it is necessary if we are to reach the goal the Lord has planned for our lives.  You have been given a path with a project to complete but may have gotten sidetracked by the obstacles of life.  It is paramount to keep moving forward, not allowing life to slow you down from success.  You cannot listen to the naysayers; you cannot give in to fear and doubt; you cannot submit to intimidation if you are going to be successful!  With boldness and fortitude march forward on your path, refusing to succumb to any roadblocks.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Neh 2-6

No comments: