You’re reading NEHEMIAH: LESSONS IN REBUILDING, by Eric Elder, featuring 15 inspiring devotionals based on one of the most ambitious rebuilding projects of all time. Also available in paperback and eBook formats in our bookstore for a donation of any size!

Scripture Reading: Nehemiah 2:1-10

Has God called you to do something that’s bigger than you can pull off yourself?  Then it’s time to call on Him to help you find the resources you need from somewhere else.

It’s hard to ask for help, though.  But the good news is that when you ask God first, He’ll show you who to ask next.  Listen to this conversation that Nehemiah had with King Artaxerxes, just after Nehemiah had been praying to God about rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem:

“In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.’ 

“I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, ‘May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’ 

“The king said to me, ‘What is it you want?’ 

“Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, ‘If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.’ 

“Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, ‘How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’ It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. 

“I also said to him, ‘If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?’ And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests. So I went to the governors of Trans-Euphrates and gave them the king’s letters. The king had also sent army officers and cavalry with me” (Nehemiah 2:1-9).

Even though Nehemiah was “very much afraid,” God opened a door for him with the king, and   Nehemiah walked through it.  I can’t guarantee that God will send a king to give you what you need, but it may surprise you who God does put in your path.

I was afraid to ask for help when we began renovating Clover Ranch, but I knew there was no way we could do it on our own.  So when I asked God for help, He began to put me in touch with people who had the resources I needed to move forward.  One person knew about plumbing and came along to help; another knew about electricity and offered a hand.

At one point, God brought someone with significant resources at their disposal, but I was too afraid to ask for their help.  I didn’t want to seem presumptuous.  I didn’t want to jeopardize our new friendship.  I didn’t want to hear another “No,” as I had often heard before.  But God reminded me that this was His project, not just mine.  So I asked―and God answered.  It turned out to be the most significant contribution to the project to date.

There’s a story told about Mother Teresa, who went walking door-to-door to raise money for her orphans.  At one door, when she asked for help, a man spat in her face.  She took her habit, wiped her face clean and said,

“Well, that’s for me. That’s for my humility. Now how about something for the children?”  

The man gave her some money.

If God has put a project on your heart, remember that He wants you to succeed even more than you do.  My prayer for you is that when God opens a door in front of you, you’ll have the courage you need to walk through it and find the resources you need.

Prayer: Father, help me to find the resources I need to accomplish what You’ve put on my heart.  When it just seems too overwhelming for me to do on my own, give me the boldness to ask for help.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.