“So, the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth [day] of [the month] Elul, in fifty-two days.” (Nehemiah 6:15)
If you belong to the church, the body of Christ, this meditation is specifically for you! Listen! We like to mention Bible truths that indicate, “But God” from a positive and pacifying perspective. You know I am right about it! Don’t you remember saying, “But God is on our side!” Perhaps you remember saying, “But God steps in right on time!” Perhaps you actually memorized some Scriptures and depended on the truth they conveyed when someone looked to you for help when faced with consistent temptation and you said, “But God, with the temptation, will give you a way of escape.” Maybe someone was really down in the dumps, locked up in a prison of depression, and the Holy Spirit brought to your remembrance what is written in The Book of Jonah (Jonah 2:6), You paraphrased it this way: “I was at the bottom of the sea, the place where the mountains begin. I thought I was locked in this prison forever, but the Lord my God, (But God) took me out of my grave. God, you gave me life again!”
In doing your work as one of the Lord’s witnesses, you went through the Romans Road with an unsaved individual as you were doing some personal evangelism, and you said, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
There are so many times we can point to “But God” Yet what about “But You!” My friend, you should be like Nehemiah who led the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem project. As you read above, that project, rebuilding a wall that was 2.5 mile long, 20-40 feet high, and 8 feet wide was a great accomplishment, completed in 52 days. Yes, God helped them accomplished the work. So, again, “Yes,” “But God” is applicable. But here is where the “But You” comes in, my friend. If you keep reading in Nehemiah after the verse above, you will discover that Nehemiah continued working on other projects after he was finished leading the building of the wall. Check the closing verses as one piece of evidence I am submitting like a lawyer in the courtroom to support my statement.
The lesson for you is that just because you finished one assignment for the Lord: completed a presentation, completed preaching the word, completed putting on a Good Friday and Resurrection morning theatrical well-rehearsed performance, concluded an assigned project involving physical labor at the church, played a major role in winning one soul for Christ, or you participated in some successful project for a ministry of the church; just because you finished one assignment for the Lord, the term “But you!” should urge you to step right into your next project for the sake of the Lord. Nehemiah did so, as you can tell by reading the closing verses. And guess what? So should you! Think about what you just read and the profitable words below from the Scriptures. Mediate for a while, but them apply the “But You” point I have tried to make, not just today, but in kingdom building project, after project, after project! We, believers, still have a great work to complete. That’s the purpose we are still here! Have a great day! Be blessed!
“Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt. Then my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles and the officials and the people to be enrolled by genealogy. And I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found written in it…” (Nehemiah 7:1-5 ESV)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King