"What Is Your Life's Work?" (Nehemiah 6:3)

What Is Your Life's Work? (Nehemiah 6:3)

What is the purpose of your life (James 4:14)? Why did God create you (Ephesians 2:10)? What glory does He receive by allowing you to remain in His creation (Isaiah 43:7)? Nehemiah knew that he was working on something eternal (rather than merely temporal) significance.

Each of us should be working on something of eternal significance. This is true because every Christian is viewed as an individual builder (1 Corinthians 3:10-11; Matthew 7:24-25; Ephesians 2:19-22).

Our building projects will be tested, not only in this life (Luke 14:28-30; Matthew 7:26-27), but ultimately by God in eternity (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). So Nehemiah’s work on rebuilding the walls around God’s city, Jerusalem, brings to light some important principles about building your life’s work. Consider the following four points:

1. Every builder starts from ruin.

• Nehemiah was not a prophet nor a priest. He was primarily a cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Persia (Nehemiah 1:11).
• Nehemiah got himself appointed Governor of Judah. This new position made him responsible for overseeing the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem (Nehemiah 5:14, 16).
• These walls were destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon some 140 years prior (2 Kings 25:8-10).
• God allowed those walls around Jerusalem to be destroyed because of the rebellion of His people (Jeremiah 25:8-11).

2. What you build from the ruins of your old life becomes your life’s work.

• The rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem would become Nehemiah’s life’s work. Though it only took them 52 days (Nehemiah 6:15), it is what he has become known for.
• God wants the world to know what He can do with people whom the world ruined (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
• What remains of your ruins, God will strengthen, so you can build on them (Revelation 3:2).
• Those who saw you in sin ought to know that Christ is now your strong tower (Proverbs 18:10; Psalm 46:1-2).

3. If you have not met opposition, you are not building anything worthwhile.

• If the world is not opposing you, then you are either not building anything, or you are not building anything worthwhile to God (James 4:4; John 15:18-19; 1 John 3:12; 2 Timothy 3:12).
• When Nehemiah encouraged them to remove their shame by going to work, they faced the mockery and scorn of their neighbors (Nehemiah 4:1-3).
• Nehemiah and his workers had to work with a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other hand (Nehemiah 4:17-18).
• When words didn’t work to discourage them, violence was threatened (Nehemiah 4:7-8).
• Nehemiah was slandered (Nehemiah 6:10-13), yet he kept working.

4. When the building is over, the celebration begins.

• Successful builders are rewarded (2 Timothy 4:8; 1 Peter 5:4; James 1:12).
• Once the wall was rebuilt, Nehemiah and the people celebrated (Nehemiah 8:1-12).

"Christ First, Christ Only, Christ Always"