This devotion was written by Simeon Zahl, from The Mockingbird Devotional.
Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands. (Nehemiah 6:8-9, ESV)
The mind is a master illusionist. It is possible to spend our whole lives shadowboxing with unrealities we have “invented out of our own minds.” Nothing seems more real than the rejection we perceive in an oddly raised eyebrow, an inopportune yawn, the scowl of a stranger. The mind can spin an epic tale of misunderstanding and betrayal out of the smallest and most meaningless experience. In that sense it is immensely creative. But it is a dull sort of creativity, because it so often manufactures the same boring story of our fears, our aspirations, and our anxieties. There is no reality here. “No such things as you say have been done.” Our heart races—“Did she look at me? Or is she avoiding me?”—but only because our minds have fooled our bodies into thinking something real is happening.
True work of our hands is an antidote to such projection. There is freedom in performing the task that has been given each day. The picture of Nehemiah building a very un-illusory wall is a picture of freedom. It is a freedom that can only be granted from without, but it is a true freedom.
Lord, strengthen our hands, and save us from our unrealities.
COMMENTS
3 responses to “Hopelessly Devoted: Nehemiah Chapter Six Verses Eight and Nine”
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So true. But is a construction job building walls or a cubicle job spent entering numbers in a spreadsheet for eight hours the only kind of legitimate work? What other kinds work does God honor that might not look like what we associate with Work 2019? And does the dollar compensation legitimize a job or not?
I think modern AmerIcans overly limit the kinds of work of which God approves. We need far more grace in this area and far more creative thinking regarding the intersection of Jesus and employment.
Great devotional. Thanks, Simeon.
I agree with DLE that it is a “Great devotional.” March 8th was, too…the final line gave me chills.
The final line from March 8th, that is 😉