A Great Work

<p>The security guard found and removed a piece of tape that was keeping a door from clicking shut. Later, when he checked the door, he found it had been taped again. He called the police, who arrived and arrested five burglars.</p> <p>Working at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of a major political party in the US, the young guard had just uncovered the biggest political scandal of his lifetime simply by taking his job seriously&mdash;and doing it well.</p> <p>Nehemiah began rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem&mdash;a task he took very seriously. Toward the end of the project, neighboring rivals asked him to meet with them in a nearby village. Under the guise of a friendly invitation was an insidious trap (Nehemiah 6:1&ndash;2). Yet Nehemiah&rsquo;s response shows the depth of his conviction: &ldquo;I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?&rdquo; (v. 3).</p> <p>Although he certainly possessed some authority, Nehemiah may not have rated very high on the hero scale. He wasn&rsquo;t a great warrior, not a poet or a prophet, not a king or a sage. He was a cup-bearer-turned-contractor. Yet he believed he was doing something vital for God. May we take seriously what He&rsquo;s given us to do and do it well in His power and provision.</p>