Builders of broken walls

Maurits Stevens, July 3, 2016

Our world is broken and torn apart. Or as someone else said to me this week: ‘The world is
sick and it only gets worse’. We know that. We see it and feel it, everyday. The sister in the
family who is fighting a severe disease. The couple in the street that is going through a
divorce and leaves a huge crack in their young family. The son who walked away from
home. Or at a larger scale, the politician that shout’s ‘Brexit’, the other ‘Bremain’. Again
others who set up people groups against people groups; the white against the black, the
rich against the poor, the Americans against the Mexicans, the fundamentalists against the
rest of the world.

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The question is: what is our response as Christians to a broken and torn apart world? Or at
a deeper level: what is God’s response to such a world? From the bible we know what
God’s response is: wholeness, restoration, re-union and redemption [Is. 61, 65:17-25, Rom.
8:18-21, Eph. 1:9-10, Col. 1:15-23, Rev. 21]. That’s why Jesus died on the cross: to make
everything new.And God’s response should exactly be our response: God wants you to
extend His ‘wholeness’ into a broken and torn apart world [Micha 6:8].

Today I would like to reflect on the story of Nehemiah. Nehemiah is the last of the historical
books in the Old Testament and tells us how Nehemiah restored the broken wall of
Jerusalem. He was a man who took God’s wholeness and restoration into a broken and torn
apart nation. And I would like to use his story to inspire you with 4 practical tools to be
rebuild broken walls today. Whether it’s in your family, your neighbourhood, at work or in
society at large.

Reading: Nehemiah 1:1-4

Involvement & compassion

The first practical step is your ‘personal involvement’with the world that you live in. In
what matter are you involved in what happens around you? In the lives of the ones you
love, your neighbours or the people you work or study with? Do you look beyond your own
life and are you interested in the lives of others? Are you connected to the social context
you live, study and work in?

Personal involvement has to do with ‘vision’ and ‘compassion’. What do you see and what
does it do with you? When Jesus saw the crowds He was filled with compassion, because
they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd [Math. 9:36]. We see
exactly the same with Nehemiah; he saw the need of his people and it broke his heart.

To give a little context: Nehemiah was a Jew but born and raised during the Babylonian
exile. The darkest chapter in the story of the people of Israel. Israel - since the Exodus story
– was God’s own special covenant people. But they broke God’s covenant as they rebelled
deeply and persistently against God. As a result of that the nation had fallen apart in a
northern kingdom [Israel] and a southern kingdom [Judah]. But both kingdom’s came to an
end as they were taken into exile. The northern kingdom was taken into exile by the
Assyrians, and later, the southern kingdom [Judah] by the Babylonians. The exile of Judah
happened in the year of 586 B.C. About 70 years later, the Babylonian king allowed the first
group of Jews to go back to Jerusalem. They came back under Zerubbabel who rebuild the
temple [Ezra 1-6]. The second group returned to Jerusalem under Ezra. He restored the
worship service and lead the people into a revival [Ezra 7-10]. The story of Nehemiah takes
place around 445 B.C and he lead the third group to Jerusalem and rebuild the city wall.

Nehemiah thus, lived and worked in Babylon, in the town Susa, which today would be in
South Iraq – quite far away from the ancient city Jerusalem. He had a good life and a high
position on the king’s court: he was cupbearer to the king – and thus the king trusted
Nehemiah in everything. But although he had this position and lived far away; his heart was
with his own people, his own land, his own city: Jerusalem.

Nehemiah was deeply involved and compassionate with his people, and would ask about
them any chance he had. One of these chances came as his brother returned from a
journey to Jerusalem. Nehemiah questioned Hanani about his people and Jerusalem.
He questioned; it wasn’t a superficial ‘and, how was it? Good? Cool!’ sort of question. No,
Nehemiah was seriously interested and wanted to know everything: how they really are
doing. How do they live and what their needs are. How their relationship with God is and the
state of the city. Is it rebuild? Is it strong? What about the wall? Nehemiah dared to ask
serious questions, because he was deeply involved and compassionate with the people and
the city.

A first step to be a ‘builder of broken walls’ is to be deeply involved and

compassionate with the people and context you live in. Asking serious questions is a way of
being deeply involved and compassionate. Serious and sincere questions, not a superficial
‘high, how are you’? [although, of course there is also a time for this]. But; ‘tell me, how are
you really doing?’ or ‘what is going on in this neighbourhood?’ or ‘in this city?’. The reason
you ask these questions and why you the know the answers is because you desire to seek
ways to advance God’s wholeness, restoration and unity of the broken walls in society.

But maybe you don’t feel so compassionate with people. Maybe you know that Jesus wants
you to be so, but it’s simply not the case! What to do? You can pray for it. Let me illustrate
this with a funny story from my life, because I was like this. I had very little compassion –
people had to solve their own problems, it wasn’t my business. But as I came to Christ and
learned about the compassion of Jesus, I realized that something had to be changed within
me. It’s good to be compassionate with people because that will enable you to touch them
with God’s love and mercy. And thus I prayed: ‘Lord, will you fill me with your compassion’.
But be careful what you pray for; the days following my prayer, God filled me with such
compassion that I could hardly walk on the street without crying, because of all the people I
saw around me. It was too much!!! And thus I had to pray: a little less, Lord….please – I
can’t handle this!

You can pray for compassion, and yet, the closer you live with Jesus, the more your heart
will be transformed like that of Jesus. Nehemiah was compassionate as he lived close with
God. The answer of his brother was devastating: ‘the people are in great trouble and
disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and it’s gates have been burned with fire’.
It broke Nehemiah’s heart – this was shocking news. And then Nehemiah took a next step.
He began to pray.

Prayer

The second step is ‘prayer’. Prayer is seeking God’s involvement in what is going on
around you. You bring the needs of your neighbours or family or your CEO e.g. before God
in prayer and seek to partner with God in this specific situation.

When Nehemiah heard the sad news he sat down and wept. ‘For some days I mourned and
fasted and prayed before the God of heaven’ [vs. 4]. ‘Some days’ probably was a period of
several months [2:1: Nisan = March]. Deeply moved as Nehemiah was, he intentionally
sought God in prayer – again, not a superficial prayer like: please God, help them, amen.
No, Nehemiah was mourning, fasting and praying before God, bringing his people and the
city before God. Verse 5-11 gives an example of how he prayed. We read that
he praised God for his greatness, love and faithfulness. Nehemiah identified himself with his
people and confessed the sins of his people on behalf of them.

Then he intercedes for them and ends his prayer in surrender: Nehemiah made himself
available for God to be used: ‘O, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your
servant…give your servant success today by granting him favour in the presence of this
man’ [vs. 11]. [Praise-Confession-Intercession-Surrender; quite a helpful prayer model isn’t
it?]

When was the last time that you really cried before God because of a broken wall that you
see around you? Whether this broken wall is in your family, in your neighbourhood or in
your work- study sphere? Or in society? When was the last time you fasted and intentionally
prayed because you want to see a change, a breakthrough of God in someone else his life?

Honestly; the times I prayed like this are rare!

Years ago, I joined a project of ten days fasting and prayer for revival in the
Netherlands, organized by Soul survivor. Later on, I started a prayer group for the students
at the Hanze Hoogeschool in Groningen. I have a few more stories like this, but really, there
is nothing to be proud of – because it’s not that much I can tell!

And I think I speak for most of us when I say: ‘we can do better in prayer’. And let’s be
better at it! There is nothing as simple to bring the broken walls to God in prayer. And let
Nehemiah’s prayer inspire you to pray for the needs of people, your neighbourhood or city.
As you see a broken wall; bring it to God in prayer! Seek His involvement – praise Him for
greatness and awesomeness: proclaim His power over the person’s life or the state of your
street. Identify yourself with the ones you’re praying for and on behalf of them, confess their
sins. Intercede: pray for God’s breakthrough, his kingdom and righteousness to come. And
last but not least, probably the most challenging step: surrender! Make yourself available to
God and say: here I am, send me. Use me, I want to be part of your solution, your
breakthrough, your change! God is searching for builders of broken walls – He is waiting
and looking for you!

Observe and plan

In that period of prayer a plan evolved in Nehemiah’s mind. God began to put a vision on
his heart, a dream [2:11]. The plan was to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the wall. In 2:4 we
read how Nehemiah asked permission to the king [which, by the way, was quiet a bold
step!]: ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favour in his sight, let him send
me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it’.

The third step that Nehemiah took was ‘Observe and plan’. He had made a plan and
set a time to rebuild the wall. But before he began to work out his plan, Nehemiah went to
Jerusalem and observed whether his plan would be fruitful. We read ‘I went to Jerusalem…I
set out during the night with a few men…by night I went out through the Valley Gate toward
the Jackal Well and the Dung gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been
broken down.’ [2:11-13].

Nehemiah didn’t told anyone about his dream, except from these few men. He went out at
night, to do his work ‘under the radar’. Nehemiah turns out to be a wise men. He first
examined/observed the state of the wall and evaluated how the state of the wall would fit
with his plan to rebuild it. Was it realistic? Where do I see opportunities? What are the
weakest points in the broken wall? Where and how do we need to start, what deserves
highest priority? Do I need to tweak my plan?

If you pray to God, and tell Him that you want to join God in what He is already doing; in the
life of your neighbour or friend or city, then God would certainly put a vision, a dream in your
heart – just like he did with Nehemiah. But before you go and impulsively work out your
plan, learn from Nehemiah and examine/observe first how your plan would fit in the specific
situation.

A practical way of examining is ‘to pray with eyes open’. Meaning that as you look to the
broken wall in the life of your friend e.g., you ask God: ‘what are you doing in his life? Show
me how to work out the plan you’ve put in my heart for him’. Or, ‘God, how does my plan fit
with the situation at my work?’ ‘Where do I need to begin, what is the weakest spot?’.
Maybe you need to tweak your plan a bit, maybe not.

One more story from my own life: I’ve never learned to be a good builder. When we would
go on holiday’s my dad would say: go and play, we set up the tent. He knew that I would not
be of much help. But it resulted in the fact that I’ve never learned to set up a tent, and it still
makes me nervous! In terms of the kingdom: we need to learn and train ourselves and our
children, right from the beginning, that following Jesus involves ‘building’ into the lives of
others and into the society we live in. The things that Nehemiah did – are things we can all
learn but it requires practice, repetition and sometimes ‘patience’ and ‘not much of a help’ –
you can start practicing today to become a great builder tomorrow!

Start and build in faith

Being on the spot, seeing, touching and smelling the ruined wall, Nehemiah became
convinced that the plan that God had put in his heart was the right thing to do. That’s why it
so wise to first observe and examine before you start. And then he communicated to the
leaders of Jerusalem the true purpose of his visit; ‘You see the trouble we are in; Jerusalem
lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of
Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace…They replied, ‘Let us start rebuilding.’ So
they began this great work’ [2:17-18].

The fourth step to rebuild broken walls is actually to really start doing it. To put your
vision into reality, your words into deeds, your plans and faith into action. Nehemiah began
to rebuild the wall, and it’s really fascinating to read how he did it [ch.3-6]. He worked with
many people, was very strategic, solved many problems, faced much opposition; internal
and external – with the constant threat of ‘terrorist attacks’ of three surrounding enemies.
But he continued to motivate people [4:6] and creatively worked out a plan of defense
[4:13]. Nehemiah was a strategist, a creative and wise leader, a motivator and problem
solver, he was not afraid and courageous. Nehemiah was a people person and above all a
spiritual leader. He showed great faith and worked closely with God. The whole work was
completed in 52 days [6:15] – absolutely impossible humanly speaking. But the key to
success was God: ‘The God of heaven will give us success’ [2:20].

If you want to be a builder of broken walls and God had put a vision in your heart and
showed how he wants to use you. If you have observed and examined the need, maybe
tweaked your plan a bit but finally came to the conclusion: and this is how I do it. Then the
final step is to actually start doing it. Build. Build these broken walls. But the key to success
is that you build with God [6:16]. Only with his help, his favour and his gracious hand upon
you [2:18] will you be able to finish the work that lays before you. It will not always be easy:
you will face opposition, problems, have victory and loss, but if you persevere, because you
know that what you’re building is a ‘God-given dream’; you may also have trust and faith
that you will be fruitful. That the broken wall will be rebuild; wholeness will be advanced,
unity will be restored and brokenness will be redeemed.

Let me encourage you to be deeply involved and compassionate with the people around
you and the society you live in. Bring before God a broken wall that breaks your heart. Plan
and observe how you can be part of the solution.

And then ‘go’, start rebuilding and may God’s kingdom breakthrough. And if you think that
what you do is impossible, then think back to the story of Nehemiah – and may you be
encouraged to keep faith in God and keep putting your God-given dream into action.
 REBUILDING
BROKEN WALLS AND
BROKEN LIVES
LINDA MCCUTCHEON

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When cancer shows up on a routine medical visit. Or when an out of country vacation
leads to a serious illness. Or when a spouse reveals they have been in a secret affair
for months. What do you do when the devastatingly unexpected happens?

“But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you and
start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you have
chosen to be worshiped.” Nehemiah 1:9 (CEV)

In the book of Nehemiah, we read that the Jews were in a similar predicament. Life
had taken them by surprise: they had been attacked, taken captive, and had lost their
homes. Some of them had escaped, but even in their freedom they still experienced
heartache. They came back to a ruined city, to crumbled walls. They were disgraced.
And they had no idea how to repair their city for safety and for dignity.

God in His grace used the prophet Nehemiah to give the Jews hope again, and
Nehemiah interceded on their behalf. They were in a mess — with no fixed address
and no city to protect them. Plus, they had forgotten the miracles of the past. They had
ignored God’s promises and had lost all hope.

But Nehemiah stood in the gap. He prayed, “Please remember the promise you made
to Moses. You told him that if we were unfaithful, you would scatter us among foreign
nations. But you also said that no matter how far away we were, we could turn to you
and start obeying your laws. Then you would bring us back to the place where you
have chosen to be worshiped. Our Lord, I am praying for your servants...” (Nehemiah
1:8-10a, CEV).

God was faithful then and He is still faithful today. The Jews needed a new
perspective and a new start to re-build not only their homes, but also their lives.

Maybe you can relate. Are you feeling like the people of Israel right now? Is life
overwhelming and unbearable?

A few years ago, I stood in a similar place as the Jews did. I needed to rebuild my
world. I found myself with a broken marriage and a broken heart, and I began to look
for another home, a new start, and a fresh perspective. I had to choose to either live in
ruin or slowly rebuild my life, one brick at a time.

Sometimes, you need to gain perspective on your situation, especially in the midst of
tragedy, heartache, selfishness, or a sense of hopelessness. You need to reflect, to sit
quietly, and to determine healthy changes in your personal life. This process allows
you to re-build your character, acknowledging that you have worth in God’s eyes.

Are you willing to ask God to fulfill His promise to refresh and rebuild your life? Or,
maybe you are a Nehemiah who can help and intercede for others and encourage those
in need.

Once you take the step of obedience, He will help you move ahead. Because God is in
the business of rebuilding broken lives.

Nehemiah 6:16 says, “On the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, the wall was
completely rebuilt. It had taken fifty-two days.” It happened to them, and it can
happen to you, too!
Under Construction: How To Rebuild The Walls In Your Life Part 1

The building and rebuilding of walls date back to ancient times. Through human history
governments, militaries have constructed defensive walls to keep enemies at bay.

Famous wall had included the Amorite Wall which stretched over a hundred miles between the
Tigres and Euphrates Rivers (modern day Iraq). We also know of the Berlin Wall which became
a symbol of the Cold War and the Great Wall of China, a single, unbroken barrier which at some
points is up to 25 feet tall.

Another wall that is famous, and that is connected deeply to biblical history, is the wall of
Jerusalem.

We focus today on Nehemiah who received the disturbing report that the wall was “broken down
and the gates” had been “burned with fire.” Because it is this is an event that happened in
biblical times, perhaps it’s hard to garner much sympathy for Nehemiah and his people. And
because few if any of us have had the experience of witnessing the walls or gates of a place
dear to broken down or gates burned with fire. But if we ponder for a moment what walls can
symbolize, then the story becomes one which we all can relate.

Walls are structures that give definition to an area and provide security and shelter. And every
human being wants to have the sense of safety that one gets when they meet their basic
physiological needs. It is a concept best articulated by America psychologist Maslow who was
known for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a theory of our psychological well-being
connected to fulfilling innate human needs (i.e., food, shelter and clothing).

The identity and pride of the people of Israel were attached to the wall. Its destruction brought
desolation and despair to the land. It wasn’t only that their physiological needs were not being
met, but it also has an impact on their sense of fulfillment and self-actualization (another
concept in Maslow’s philosophy).

Have you ever been there before? Have you ever felt that something destroyed the walls in your
life? Did you ever feel like you lost the sense of security that you once had? Or where you felt
like the job, the relationship, your dreams or something else did not turn out the way you
expected? That sense of disappointment can make anyone, even the most assured confident
person to question their purpose and their hope for the future.

Everyone, even followers of Christ, at some point in their life has to deal with instability,
uncertainty, lack of accomplishment and other things that make us feel that we have no walls
(structures) in our life.

As Christians, we have to realize that we have the resources to rebuild the walls in our life. The
story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem gives us insight on how we can fix the
things in our personal lives that need to be. We’re all under construction. We are all still being
shaped and molded.

Here are a few principles that we should focus on to ensure that we have structure and stability
in whatever God is calling us to do.
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