Examining Your Walls

As I continue to read through Nehemiah, a ton of things are coming out of it.

Take a minute and read Nehemiah 2:11-20

Some questions to process:

1. What sticks out to you in these verses?
2. What was the first thing Nehemiah did with the Jerusalem wall?
3. What was his assessment of the wall?
4. How did the workers respond to Nehemiah's challenge?

Before Nehemiah got into actually rebuilding the Jerusalem wall, he had to do an assessment of the wall.  He had to find out where the weak points were so he could hit those rough spots first.  Once those weak areas were rebuilt and strengthened, the city of Jerusalem would be strong and better equipped to defend her city.

As I was reading through this I thought of how often I assess my life.  How often do I look for weak areas or things that need improving?

I know it is not easy to look for weak or struggling areas in our lives.  It can be a very humbling experience.  But, as Paul points out in 1 Peter 5:5-6, when we humble ourselves, he will lift us up - "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."

This week, do an assessment of your life.  What are some strong areas and weak areas in your life?  Of the weak areas, what steps can you take this week to improve?

After Nehemiah examined the walls, he devised a plan to strengthen them.  The walls improved slowly, but eventually were rebuilt.  In the same way, we can not expect God to repair those weak areas in our lives overnight.  But if we come up with a plan and stick to it, we will be successful in rebuilding our walls as well.

Pray that God would allow you to see the walls in your life that you can begin to repair and strengthen them so you can glorify Him with who you are in all that you do.

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