More times than not, I find myself drawn to the book of Nehemiah in the Bible. Have you ever read it? What I love about it is the blueprint God gives us to rebuild a city that is in total ruins. Not just where all the walls have fallen, but, where the city has been overtaken by evil and many of the people of the city are now slaves in other lands. Hope has been supposedly lost. But, in hope walks.
Nehemiah hears that his city is in ruins and his people are scattered and he weeps and cries out to the Lord. I feel this way sometimes about my body, like I am sitting in the ruins of my choices, effects of trauma, inaction, and sinfulness. If you have ever been to the end of something you know that the end is never the end, it’s the beginning of something new. Because you have to make a choice.
Choice one: Mourn, Fast, Pray. Why is this step so hard? He turns our mourning into dancing; that is a promise. Nehemiah’s prayer includes confession of sins in detail, reminders to God of who he is in our life, and the promises he has made to us, and then requests for God to intervene, to hear, to be successful in the rebuilding and then accept the hope offered.
Hope is the precipice of change. Focusing our energy forward, not looking back and then asking the right questions.
Choice two: Ask. Ask the Lord for what you want. In Nehemiah two he goes before his king boldly to go and rebuild the city of his people. We need to ask the Lord for what we want in the rebuilding of our city, our dwelling place, our body, mind, spirit. What is it you want? I don’t know about you but mine are always the same and I seem to fail at this often. I want to lose weight, make healthier choices, develop better practices, break bad habits and build new ones. I need to ask the Lord for what I want boldly and then I need to listen and follow through.
Choice three: Set yourself up for success, not failure. Ask the Lord for the resources, tools, mental capabilities, willingness to rebuild and people to surround you that only want the best for you and can provide you with accountability. Nehemiah in Chapter two sends letters to all the lands on the way to rebuild asking for safe passage. He asks for the timber for building. Be prepared. This is also another point in which I fail. I do not prepare ahead of time for the necessary things to succeed.
Choice Four: Examine the ruins. As an insurance representative for almost thirty-five years now, I have explained thousands upon thousands of times to my customers that rebuilding costs more than building because you have to assess the damages, remove the things that cannot be fixed and then rebuild. Why? Well, it takes more work, more time and it costs more. WOW, how did I miss this? It is going to cost me more in the rebuilding of my dwelling place because I have to figure out where I am damaged, tear off the broken pieces, and rebuild with new. This will also take more time.
Did you know Nehemiah did all that assessing in secret? He didn’t tell anyone what he was doing, only a choice few new until he has figured out what had to be done so he could step forward. How many times do we tell the world, poll the masses, seek guidance from the wrong sources? Yoyo dieting, that is what that is. In prayer and supplication submit your requests to God.
Choice Five: Begin the good work with the new blueprint, the plan, and those who will help you in the rebuilding process. After Nehemiah had assessed the damages and created his plan, he then told the people that God was with him and they should rebuild.
Choice Six: One gate at a time: The Sheep Gate, The Fish Gate, The Jashanah Gate, the Valley Gate, The Dung Gate, The Fountain Gate, The Horse Gate, The Inspection Gate and all the little pieces in between. How often do we get ahead of ourselves? I do this often. Example: when I choose to go to the pool to swim (a hard decision these days) because I am such a strong swimmer, I can swim in buoyancy much longer than I should. By doing this I am rendered almost paralyzed for several days. If I swim for twenty minutes and stop, then I can do it again tomorrow. Small, consistent changes are necessary. Each ounce of food, each step I take, each choice I make is important in the rebuilding.
Choice Seven: Defend Yourself, protect your rebuilding process. The Enemy will attack. The voices in your head, those negative thoughts that assault you every time you start something that is beginning to be successful will come. Defend yourself, be ready for battle. Ask God to intervene where you are weak. I need this step the most, I think. In Nehemiah four the Jews worked with half of the men holding spears and the other half working, always carrying their weapons even to get water. Shield up, Bible open, put on your new self.
Choice Eight: Keep watch over the new space. Put security in place. Protect what has been rebuilt. Do not let in the old ways, the old people that drag you down, the food that made you unhealthy, the habits that made you fall. Nehemiah appointed people to protect the city. We must appoint God to remind us, direct us, lead us in the way we should go.
Choice Nine: Remember God’s promises to you. Open the book. Read it, meditate on it, recite it, memorize it. In Nehemiah one he prays these words “If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.” We must claim our bodies as a dwelling for God’s name.
Choice Ten: Remain faithful and continue growing. Nehemiah 10:39b “We will not neglect the house of our God.” This one is big, we tend to fall back on old ways, just like the Israelites. That is why God uses this as an example for us to rebuild our temple. He continues to reform, reflect, refine, rebuild and repent when necessary for falling back in sin. But never stop continuing to grow.
I love this blueprint. I am going to create a resource with this blueprint. Ten Choices to a better you. Now we have to stop procrastinating and work it one choice at a time.
Love you guys, pray for me and I will pray for you. Let’s rebuild and become new.
Susanne Moore 