God Calls Us to Work Together

In Nehemiah we see that God always keeps his promises. Nehemiah prayed trusting that God wanted the walls rebuilt.

Nehemiah chapter three onwards tells us that the people worked next to each other. Cooperating and working as a team. Some couldn’t do the building as they weren’t physically able. I know I would have problems building the wall! Everyone was able to do their part. Some were able to contribute money or equipment. I guess the women would have been feeding the workers, so their energy levels were maintained.

This phrase comes up all the time. “Next to”. Were they all best friends? Probably not, but they were happy to be next to each other because the job was more important than how they felt about each other. We don’t always get on well with the people we’re working with, but our common goal is more important.

If you’d asked a builder on the north side of the wall what he was doing it would be the same answer as the builder on the south side. “We are building the wall of Jerusalem so God’s people can come and worship safely and His purpose can be carried out.”

So, how did the wall get built? They did it by working together. Different people had different jobs to do. The priests or leaders could have been working with the builders. And the goldsmiths and the gate keepers could have been like security guards keeping an eye on everything. They needed each other to get the job done.

Good things happen when we work together. We get more work done. For instance, one person painting the drop-in centre would take so much longer than 12 people. Different skills are used and we learn new things. Someone may know how to paint the edges or show me how to put masking tape around the windows.

It’s more fun to work together. We can laugh, sing, chat and meet new friends. Finally, when the job is done, we can enjoy each other’s company around a meal and praise God together for a job well done.

So, the young, the middle-aged and older people can use what they have for God. 1 Corinthians 12:12 tells us that “just as a body though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body. So, it is with Christ” (NIV). Verse 18 says “But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

The body of Christ is a group of people working together but we are all different with unique skills and gifts. That doesn’t make you less or more important than someone else, just different.

Just as each person had a part to play in building the wall, we have a part to play in building God’s Kingdom here on earth.

Use your gifts and skills for God. And be ready to tell people about Jesus and what he’s done for you. We are a team serving the Lord together. What part can you play in serving God? Let us all pray and ask God to show us what we can do to build His kingdom, for God calls us to work together.