Kellie Alexander

This morning I was reading in Nehemiah, and something caught my attention in a way it never has before.

Nehemiah and the Israelites were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. They had begun putting back together something that had been broken down for years.

And as the rebuilding progressed, so did the opposition.

Nehemiah records that Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs were moving forward and that the gaps in the wall were being closed. And they were angry.

They began plotting together to come against Jerusalem and stir up trouble.

But then comes this simple sentence:

“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”

I stopped there.

Because sometimes we imagine that once we finally decide to rebuild our lives, things should start getting easier.

We think, I’m doing the right thing. I’m moving forward. I’m trusting God. Surely now everything will fall into place.

But that’s not what happened for Nehemiah.

The opposition became more intense as the rebuilding became more visible.

The wall was going up. The gaps were closing. The people were working with all their hearts.

And that’s when the enemies became angry.

I don’t think that’s an insignificant detail.

Sometimes opposition comes because something is being rebuilt.

As Christians, we believe there is a spiritual reality behind the things we see. The enemy is not particularly creative. Scripture repeatedly shows patterns of accusation, intimidation, discouragement, deception, division, and fear.

The names and the circumstances may change. But the tactics aren’t particularly new. The same enemy who opposed God’s people then still opposes God’s people now.

And perhaps that’s something we need to remember when we’re rebuilding after loss, disappointment, betrayal, failure, or years of simply being worn down.

Resistance doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going the wrong direction.

Sometimes you’re finally moving in the right direction. The wall is going up and the gaps are closing.

Sometimes you’re becoming stronger, healthier, more grounded, more obedient, more hopeful, when suddenly you encounter resistance you didn’t expect.

That doesn’t mean you quit building.

Let’s look at what Nehemiah and God’s people did.

They prayed.

And then they posted a guard.

They trusted God, but they didn’t abandon wisdom.

They prayed, and they prepared.

They believed God, and they kept working.

That’s important.

Because rebuilding requires both faith and action. You can pray while you’re building. You can guard what God is restoring even in the midst of the process. You can acknowledge the opposition without allowing it to become your obsession.

And most importantly:

You keep building.

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And then I read Revelation 6.

The fifth seal is opened, and John sees the souls of those who had been killed because of the Word of God and because of the testimony they had maintained.

They cry out:

“How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge… and avenge our blood?”

And they’re given white robes.

But they’re told to wait a little longer.

That part struck me.

They are with God.

They have been faithful.

Their suffering has not been forgotten.

And yet God’s final judgment has not happened yet.

There is still a waiting period.

And then comes the part that really made me stop and think:

There are still others who will suffer and die before God’s purposes reach their appointed completion. That’s a difficult thing to sit with.

We tend to think of death as the ultimate victory of the enemy. And Scripture certainly doesn’t minimize death. The Bible calls death an enemy.

But it also tells us that death is not sovereign.

God is.

And that changes the way we look at it.

Death can take someone from our presence. It can change everything about our earthly relationship with them. It can leave an enormous hole in our lives.

But for the Christian, death does not have the final word.

God does.

That’s why Paul could call death an enemy and simultaneously speak about its ultimate destruction. Death, grief and loss are real.

But they are not final for believers.

People don’t disappear. They change location.

That thought came to me this morning.

From our earthly perspective, death feels like disappearance. Someone was here. Now they’re not.

We can’t call them.

We can’t hug them.

We can’t hear their voice.

We can’t watch them walk through the door.

And yet Christian hope tells us that physical death is not the end of the person. There is a reality beyond what we can see. For those who belong to Christ, death is not annihilation.

It’s not the end of the story.

It’s a change of location while we wait for the resurrection and the restoration of all things.

And perhaps that’s why Revelation 6 affected me differently this morning.

Those souls under the altar weren’t forgotten. They weren’t lost. They weren’t wondering whether God knew what had happened to them. They were in His presence.

And they were waiting.

Waiting.

That word keeps coming back to me.

Because so much of rebuilding involves waiting.

We want the wall finished now.

We want the restoration now.

We want justice now.

We want answers now.

We want the broken pieces to make sense now.

But sometimes God says:

Keep building.
Keep praying.
Keep watch.
And wait.

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The wall isn’t finished yet.

That’s probably the part I need to remember most.

When you’re rebuilding your life, it’s easy to look at everything that isn’t finished and conclude that nothing is happening.

But Nehemiah tells us something different.

The wall wasn’t finished. But it was higher than it had been.

The gaps weren’t all closed. But some of them were.

The opposition wasn’t gone. But neither was God’s presence.

The work was progressing.

And sometimes that’s all you need to know.

Maybe you’re not where you want to be yet.

Maybe your family isn’t restored.

Maybe your finances aren’t where you want them.

Maybe your career isn’t settled.

Maybe your dreams are still sitting in boxes.

Maybe your confidence is still fragile.

Maybe you’re still figuring out who you are after everything you’ve been through.

Maybe there are still enormous gaps in the wall.

But look again.

What has been rebuilt?

What gap has closed?

What strength has returned?

What habit has changed?

What dream has started breathing again?

What part of you has begun to hope?

Don’t despise progress simply because the work isn’t finished.

The Israelites rebuilt the wall one section at a time.

And they did it while their enemies were watching.

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So if you’re rebuilding right now, here’s what I want you to remember:

Pray.

Don’t underestimate the power of bringing your rebuilding before God.

Post a guard.

Protect what God is restoring. Set boundaries. Use wisdom. Don’t continually expose yourself to the very things you’re trying to heal from.

Keep building.

Even when somebody doesn’t understand.

Even when somebody criticizes you.

Even when the old voices tell you that you’ll never change.

Even when the enemy whispers that it’s pointless.

Keep putting one stone on top of another.

And wait.

Wait for God’s timing.

Wait for His justice.

Wait for His restoration.

Wait for the things you cannot force.

Because the fact that the wall isn’t finished doesn’t mean God isn’t working.

And the fact that the story hasn’t reached its ending doesn’t mean God has lost control of it.

The wall is still going up.

The gaps are still closing.

The builders are still working.

And our God is still sovereign.

So today, I’m going to keep building.

One stone at a time.

And I’m going to trust the God who sees the whole wall—even when all I can see is the section in front of me.