A Mind to Work

" So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work." (Neh 4:6) The 4th chapter of the book of Nehemiah is all about how the people had a commandment to build up the wall and how they were mocked and hindered and how they were made to build with one hand and hold their sword in the other, not unlike our life for the Lord where we must build on the one hand and hold up our sword of the Word in the other, and not stop or give up our work for the Lord no matter what.

When you decide to work for God there are going to be all kinds of people and obstacles that will try to get you down from that wall of service to the Lord. Often, it is those that we love the most that present the greatest danger of getting us to stop or slow down our work for the Lord. The appearances and opinions of men can stand in the way of your commitment to the Lord.

When you make the decision to follow Jesus you will be alone, with the Lord, and your continued service to the Lord will depend upon your relationship with Him, as there will be all kinds of distractions, excuses and people trying to get you to quit, to be like one of the insignificant multitude.

The majority is always wrong ! Everyone looks to the majority as a standard, but what has the majority ever done ? It is only those who've dared to buck the trend, to break out of the majority mold that have ever accomplished anything. All the great men and women of God were anything but conformists ! There were the standouts, the exception.

The majority is happy being the complacent majority; never really accomplishing anything, just being a conformist copy of one another. Real change, real advancement or accomplishment is always done by some man or woman of vision, an iconoclast ( one who attacks settled beliefs or institutions - Webster's ) of the traditional conformity.

So, when you get on the road of service to the Lord you will soon discover that it is a lonely road, not well travelled by the masses, but those you do meet along the way will share the same heart, mind and soul that you do; the love, grace and peace of God which passes understanding and transend borders, time, generations and language.

There will always be those who don't want to break out of the mold of conformity and they will do everything they can to see to it that you don't either. They don't have faith or a desire to serve God and so will try to hinder you in any way they can from doing it either. Sometimes it comes from those closest to us. " And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."(Mt 10:36)

It is up to you ! Will you choose a life of service to God even if it means going it all alone ? Or is the comfort and complacency ( self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies - Webster's ) of the majority more your thing ? You'll have plenty of company in the majority, but no real true friends you can count on in times of trouble. To follow God is definetly a lonelier road although you will have a friend there that sticks closer than a brother - Jesus Christ. Do you "have a mind to work ?"