Staying Focused - Nehemiah 6:15-16

"So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Nehemiah Chapter 6 recounts the extraordinary political intrigue taking place behind the scenes attempting to prevent Nehemiah and the Jews from rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was intimidated and threatened by former political officials and even some of the Jewish leaders conspired with these former officials to have Nehemiah killed. Yet, despite all this opposition, Nehemiah was able to organize and spearhead an initiative to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem and complete the project in just fifty-two days! The speed and success of the reconstruction project testifies to the fact that with God's help His people can accomplish quite amazing things. Furthermore, Nehemiah remained remarkably focused on the task God had called him to do in spite of all the distraction. In fact, the more pressure that was applied to Nehemiah, the more determined and steadfast he became: "They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination" (vs. 9). The focus on accomplishing God's plans and purposes demonstrated by Nehemiah requires that we are sure of our calling and certain that God is at work in us and through us. We must know and understand what God wants to do with our lives--His will--and He will give us the enabling power and staying power needed to accomplish our respective assignments. "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us" (Philippians 3:13-14).