Day 16
When our
enemies heard that it was know to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we
all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my
servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and
coats of mail.
Nehemiah
4:15-16
Be
flexible. This is the one phrase you will hear if ever you decide to participate
in a mission trip. This will be stressed from the first day you begin to talk
about the trip and will be mentioned throughout your journey. Regardless of how
much you plan, there will be things that arise and impact those plans.
Nehemiah
himself discovered the need for this flexibility. He has gone to Jerusalem to
rebuild the wall. He has overcome several challenges. He is making good
progress, but still the need to adjust the plan arises. Because of threats that
were being made against him and his team, he must pull half of his workers off
the wall to work security. Obviously, it was not in his original plan to have
half of his people standing around holding weapons, but the situation
necessitated an adjustment.
Whether
you are on a mission trip, serving in your church, or just trying to make it through
your day to day life – recognize that there will often be times that you are required
to be flexible. In these times you have a choice to make, will you view this as
a total frustration and aggravation, or will you recognize the fact we simply
cannot control everything and must trust God?
You
will discover that what we view as a distraction can often become traction. It
is in these times, where our plans are upended, that we are forced to return to
God in prayer, seek His will and direction, and then proceed. Often the
disruptions in our life are God’s simple way of saying, “Hold on. Check with Me.”
In the end, the very thing we viewed as holding us up, might be the very thing
that allows us to proceed with purpose.
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