Strengthen My Hands & Heart

Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Strengthen my hands." Nehemiah 6:9b NIV

"If you stand straight, do not fear a crooked shadow." Chinese Proverb

Foreigners who visit Xiamen today invariably fall in love with it and want to stay, but that was not the case in the late 1980s. (See "How we got here"). When we moved here in 1988, many well-meaning friends thought we were nuts, and tried to discourage us with, "What will you do there? What about your health, and your family's safety? What about the kids' education? What about... ?" All this was from our family and best friends. Just imagine how we'd have felt had we been discouraged by enemies--such as Nehemiah faced when he was rebuilding Jerusalem's walls.

Nehemiah's enemies first threatened and intimidated him, and then tried to frighten him into giving up by saying they had proof he was plotting to make himself king. Nehemiah was unfazed. He replied, "Luanjiang!" (Chinese for "nonsense"). He wrote, "They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, 'Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.' But I prayed, 'Now strengthen my hands.'" Neh 6:9 NIV

1. Fear kills vision and resolve. Nehemiah's enemies hoped fear would weaken his hands. The Hebrew yawd, for "open hands," infers "power, means, direction." In effect, they hoped fear would kill his vision and resolve. But Nehemiah was unafraid because 1) he knew he was doing the right thing, and 2) he had no secrets for his enemies to dig up and leverage against him. His motives were pure.

2. Truth fears no lies. Or as Sir Francis Bacon wrote, "The man who fears no truths has nothing to fear from lies." Because Nehemiah had no secret agenda (wealth, fame, power), he had nothing to fear from false accusations. Nehemiah responded simply, "You are making this up out of your head" (Neh. 6:8 NIV) and he persevered.

3. Fear is Darkness; turn on the Light. Dorothy Thompson wrote, "Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light." If we do fear, we may have impure motives, or we may not be confident in our calling and our Father's promises of protection and provision.

Nothing to Hide. Jesus said, "There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed." Nehemiah had nothing to hide, and he knew it. We too should allow the Light to illuminate the dark recesses of our heart and soul. What is our real motivation? Would it stand up to public scrutiny?

Confident in our Calling. Nehemiah also lacked fear because he had no doubts about what he was called to do--or that our Father would guide him to the end. As Pro 3:5,6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

4. Strengthen My Hands. Finally, though Nehemiah trusted God, he did not expect God to build the wall, or defend the city. Nehemiah trusted God but continued to work, and prayed for strong "hands." Nehemiah prayed for God's power, means and direction to fulfill what he knew was his God-given purpose. He trusted God but kept his sword sharp and his masonry trowel full.

I have often felt fear, or at least a lack of faith, over the years. When I do fear, I pray, read the Word, and examine my motives. And it has been very helpful for me to look back over the years and see how my Father has so clearly led us, even with a "a sign from the heavens" now and then, and He will do the same today and tomorrow.

If you are alive today (and if you aren't, the internet is far more powerful than I imagined), you have a purpose and a calling. Find it, follow it and nothing else, and banish the darkness of fear with confidence in the Light that will illuminate the path of all who follow and trust our Father.

Related Topic: Trust God but Keep your Sword Sharp (Nehemiah's 6 Steps):

How We Got Here (how we ended up in Xiamen)

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