Getting Things Organised ... (Nehemiah 3)

You may think that Nehemiah 3 is not the most exciting chapter in the Bible. It's a long list of names, many of which we find hard to pronounce. The first two chapters may seem much more exciting.
​But wait a minute: this is the story of the job getting done. This is Nehemiah's heart cry being answered. This is people putting faith into action.  This is a vast group of people co-operating to achieve a big goal.  This is what success looks like.
​We love the idea of miracles, but success is often  about a lot of hard work.
​Nehemiah somehow got things organised. There is a hint that not everyone was enthusiastic, but Nehemiah somehow managed to get the whole wall built. There were no gaps. We've admired him already for his prayer and his ability to get things started. Let's admire his ability to organise. He was able to see things through.
Let's give three cheers today for those who are good at organising.  We depend on them. Church would fall apart without them.  Projects wouldn't run. People wouldn't be cared for. ​Dreams become reality when you have good organisation, whether we are talking about plans for a night shelter, a foodbank, pastoral care or just about anything. The book of Acts tells us that the first major problem was an organisational one. Paul gave detailed instructions about the way worship was to be organised, as well as the way that widows and orphans were to receive help.
​Let's also give three cheers to people who do the work that organisers give them. In this chapter there are some unlikely builders.  There are people who seem to have been called in from outside the city.  They were not all talented construction workers; they were people prepared to do their part so that the job would be done. Some of them had to do more than one job. This is what success looks like.
​Let's see this chapter as a picture of the church with everyone working together to achieve a great goal. Let's see the organiser and the organised working together effectively. Let's see people working together to get the job done.
​I love Nehemiah 3.