Kingdom Workers / Kingdom Warriors

Above the Horse Gate, the priests repaired the wall. Each one repaired the section immediately across from his own house. [Nehemiah 3.28]

I pretty much just randomly picked a scripture reference above because several in today's reading were of the same context. There were several references in today's reading where the named people repaired sections of the wall around Jerusalem by their own houses.

I suppose there is not much spiritual meaning to this at first glance, however, it would make for some interesting meditation to consider the Kingdom of God a "building project" as the Israelite people considered rebuilding the wall a "building project." Then, it starts to get interesting...

Some, but not all, of the Jewish people engaged in rebuilding sections of the wall near their own homes. Others repaired specific areas with no reference to their proximity to their homes.

I want to focus a moment on those who worked near their homes today. Every person must understand that, in God's Kingdom, there is much work and building to be done. There is, in fact, no shortage of work to be done. Sometimes, it is quite obvious what work needs to be done in other areas, but never is the need for work to be done hidden right in front of us. In other words, we don't have to have some "high call" to work in any particular area of the Kingdom of God! What we need to do is open our eyes, look out our front door, and put our hands to that which is in front of us!

It really is that simple - particularly if we look at the life of Jesus as our example! People need prayer, people need healing, people need provision - people need Jesus.

It is also noteworthy in today's reading that Nehemiah and the people of Israel had real and present danger of being attacked by enemies. But they were ready - they stayed ready. Herein lies another very important spiritual application: there is, in fact, a balance of "doing the work" and "standing guard." The context of today's reading indicates at one point the workers used one hand to work and the other to hold their weapons.

Now, the weapons of our warfare, according to the Apostle Paul, are not carnal (not physical) but spiritual. Prayer, saturated with the Word of God and the word of our testimony are our primary weapons.

So, the work to be done is obvious (if it is not, we need to step out the front door and open our eyes). We are not to resign ourselves however entirely to the work, as then we would neglect our spiritual duty to stand ready for warfare in prayer. I think the fact that Nehemiah records that the workers had two hands and therefore used one for each duty gives us some indication of a 50/50 priority to each of the respective areas in our own lives.

We are Kingdom workers. We are Kingdom warriors.

Father, thank You for the insight You have given today. I want to be a faith worker AND warrior in Your Kingdom!