- To persevere is to do something not just once, or twice, or even many times. It is to do something, to hold on to some core principles, constantly, always, day in and day out, for many, many years.
- To persevere is to keep on doing what you think is right, even when all the odds are against you, and even when success is never in sight.
- Christian life is a race – a marathon. It is not a 100 meter sprint. To succeed in a sprint, you need to be fast, strong and physically powerful. But to win a marathon, you need stamina, you need mental toughness, you need to have perseverance. You need to build up a character that just never quits, in spite of aches, pains and hardships.
- If you want to do something great, something that impacts many people’s life, you can expect that you’ll meet with many resistances and obstacles. (If you don’t, then whatever you are doing is probably not crucial enough.)
- But if you ever want to accomplish something that is monumental, then you should be prepared to endure hardships, oppositions, many long years of trials and testing.
- Nehemiah was key to the re-building and restoration of temple worship in Jerusalem. As we read the books, we can realize that Nehemiah was not perfect. Just like us, He had his flaws. (Sometimes we have a vain imagination concerning men of God, imagining that they are perfect and capable of doing everything. Because of this vain imagination, we try to become like that or try to portray that to those we consider spiritual – and we know that the end result is always disappointment and disillusion. Instead, the Bible shows us that men of God are always ordinary men – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, … that God used to manifest His glory. They are not “great” men by themselves, pardon me to say this, but, that the God whom they trust is so “great” that ordinary, weak vessels have become “great” in His hand!)
- Nehemiah said that he was engaged in a “great” work. Now, how does one define this? To the Tobiah’s, Sanballat’s and Geshem’s of the world, what they did was totally insignificant. “It was just a heap of rubble,” they ridiculed. “If even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” they insulted. Hence, to appreciate “greatness” requires the right perspective. Just consider. If Nehemiah and the remnant did not return to Jerusalem, the Messianic prophesy of Jesus being born in Bethlehem would not be fulfilled and we would not be here today. Therefore, their work was great because what they did contributed positively to what God was after. What they did, set in motion a massive chain reaction that will go on down the history for the glory of God and salvation of many.
- Hence, we should never be deceived by outward splendor. What is despised by men may be great in God’s eyes, and what is highly esteemed by men may not carry any weight before God.
