“And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So they strengthened their hands for the good work.”
If life seems chaotic, it may be that you are living in God’s construction zone.
These are good days on the campus of Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary and Graduate School. This past weekend we graduated 482 students (associates, bachelors, masters, and doctorate).
Friday and Saturday commencements were smiles and celebrations. I love the pomp and circumstance. I love how commencement is solemnity and celebration. I love watching formality turn to block party once the commencement is over. Families and friends, hugs and handshakes, cameras and smiles; always lots of smiles.
It is not lost on me that our four commencement ceremonies occurred against the backdrop of construction on our campus.
The Willis and Martha Herr Stadium is going up . . . but you wouldn’t always know it by the construction site. It’s a mess.
I think our construction site serves as a metaphor for the good work of God. The building he is doing in us and around us is not neat and tidy. Nowhere is that more evident than in the story of Nehemiah. Take a fresh look at God’s construction site:
There is rubble.
There are enemies.
There are setbacks and hardships.
There are moments of deep despair and crescendos of celebration.
There are feelings of “God, where are you!” and shouts of “God, you are amazing!”
There are internal squabbles and external hassles.
There is anger and joy and frustration in quick succession.
And all the while God is building his wall.
It is easy to forget that when we are living in the construction zone. Eyes drift from God and his good work to the problems in front of us, problems which have a way of taking on “Jolly Green Giant” proportions.
Nehemiah helps those of us living in God’s construction zone. He does it, not by ignoring the problems, but by refusing to get fixated on them. By contrast, those he leads often drift to the mounds of rubble, the enemies at the gate, the fatigue among the builders, and other hardships. To use the metaphor of our construction site, their eyes go to the rebar, the mounds of dirt, the sleeping pipe, and the seemingly endless piles of rock.
Again, Nehemiah does not ignore the challenges, but he refuses to let his eyes settle there.
He chooses encouragement over complaint.
He focuses on solutions instead problems.
He champions collaboration over isolation.
He always looks to God.
He constantly prays.
His focus is always the bigger picture.
Nehemiah sees what others do not. The wall is going up! And he knows that wall is only going to rise if he takes the block in front of him and sets it on the wall.
That is one of the reasons I am so proud of every graduate at LBC | Capital. Like Nehemiah and like those strong builders of Jerusalem’s wall, each said, “I am going to rise up and study! I am going to strengthen my hands and my mind for this good work.” I am going to take the block in front of me and add it to that educational wall.
Whether your construction site is your educational journey, or your family, or your job, or your neighborhood, or our contentious culture, or the headaches and hassles that invariably accompany progress . . . take the moment God has given you today and the block he has placed in front of you.
Don’t ignore the problems. Don’t pretend they are not there.
But like Nehemiah — and his cohort — keep your eyes on Christ and the bigger picture. Strengthen your hands for the good work. Take that one block in front of you. Place it on the wall. Rise up and build.