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Stay On The Wall - A Lesson In Distractions
Full Disclosure:
This is my loose interpretation of a sermon I heard. (So no plagiarism intended.) But a good lesson overall.
Have you ever had a good intention? Maybe even a plan. You were so going to DO this. Whatever THIS was.
And then out of nowhere, you feel like Dori in Finding Nemo and your attention is pulled in a dozen different directions.
If you didn’t get that movie reference, you are missing out!
So let me tell you about this guy in the Old Testament named Nehemiah.
Now don’t go all glazy eyes on me. The Bible is full of some pretty cool, flawed, dedicated, crazy, and wonderful people.
So this Nehemiah guy was a pretty normal dude. Nothing flashy. No great outwardly skills. He didn’t walk on water or kill a giant.
In fact, his life was pretty expendable. He was the cupbearer for the king. Which meant he had to take a drink of every glass before the king did. Just to make sure it wasn’t poisoned.
How does one explain that on a resume??
Anyway, Nehemiah’s hometown people (The Jews) had been exiled but were released to go home. Only their home had pretty much been destroyed and the walls around the city were torn down.
Nehemiah felt really bad about that. He wasn’t a leader or a priest, but he wanted to help. And he knew he could help build the wall back.
So he did a scary thing and asked the king for some time off. The vacation plan for a cupbearer was not that great. In fact, the benefits package was pretty slim anyway. Mostly death benefits.
Anyway, God moved the heart of the king and he granted him the time to go build the wall.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Well not everyone was in favor of that wall being built. And that’s where the distractions came in. One delay after another. People forming Facebook groups to oppose. TikTok videos protesting. Zoning issues.
Even a group of so-called friends tried to lure him off the wall to talk about the progress, but they really wanted to stall the process.
It would have been easy for him to give up. Or decide to take a break. I’m sure there were days when coming off that wall sounded great.
But he didn’t. He chose to stay on the wall. To finish what he started. To do what he felt was the right thing to do. Despite the distractions.
So let me ask you this.
What is your wall?
What do you feel strongly that you need to do? How can you make a difference? It doesn’t have to be as large as a fortress around a city. It can be helping one person. Or fulfilling a dream. Or completing a goal.
And you have to know, that as soon as you truly commit to your ‘wall’, the distractions will come.
Things and people and circumstances will try to stop you. Now, you still have to be responsible and reliable. You can’t forsake the rest of your life for one cause. But you can learn to limit the distractions.
Turn off the phone (or the ringer).
Limit the mindless activities that waste your time.
Don’t take on so many extracurricular obligations.
Learn the power of saying no. Without excuses.
Don’t be influenced by so-called friends who don’t truly believe in you or your ‘wall’.
My Hopefuls, walls are not built in a day. They take dedication and perseverance. And you can’t keep coming down!
I believe in you. In your abilities. In the drive to do something meaningful. You don’t have to be powerful or famous or rich to make a difference. Even ordinary people like us can make an impact.
You just have to STAY ON THE WALL!
And always
Hope With Abandon
Hope Out