Thursday; February 7
When the Old Testament Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity they came back to a mess. The city had been all but decimated during the multiple campaigns against it and no one had taken the time or had the resources to rebuild it – until a man named Nehemiah took on the challenge. He arraigned for the supplies to be delivered and provided the leadership necessary for the project to be started. Yet, even with the presence of the materials and workers that ensured success – the project had its share of detractors. Opponents became angry that the work was commencing, so they mocked the quality of work being done and threatened the workers doing the work. Yet, before long the Jews were bolstered by the success they were having. When Nehemiah reflected on the progress he observed, “So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” (Nehemiah 4:6). As I was reading about Nehemiah’