After dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well, and over to the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. (Nehemiah 2:13)
It is not in the rush and hurry of activity that a person gains the respect of those around him; it is what he does when he is all alone. Someone once aptly penned, “Character is what you are when nobody’s looking.”
Nehemiah confessed, “I did not tell anyone what my God was putting into my mind to do for Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:12 NASB). In that small, apparently insignificant phrase, there are volumes of knowledge. In the time of quietness when there was no activity, God was putting into Nehemiah’s heart some top-priority information.
Every once in a while a young man interested in being a pastor will ask me about the secret of a successful ministry, as if some clever behind-the-scenes manoeuvring was involved. My answer is usually to the point: Do your homework. Be what you ought to be when nobody’s looking. Do the job and do it to the very best of your ability for the sheer joy of glorifying God in the process. And that requires time in the Scripture! That was a major secret of Nehemiah’s success. He was faithful behind the scenes. He listened to the Lord.
Nehemiah made a careful, conscious, probing examination of the wall for one reason: as leader, it was his job to be aware of the details and to develop a plan of action. But there is a vast difference between being aware of the details and being lost in those details. The individual who is able to stand back—being fully aware of the facts and yet not lost in them—is the one best equipped to lead.
Nehemiah had done all his homework and made all his inspections (2:13–15). He was finally ready to discuss the need to rebuild the city wall. It was time to get the project moving. He hadn’t said anything about his plans for three days. Then, when he had a good handle on the situation, he stood in front of the city council and said: “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates have been burned by fire. Come, let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a disgrace” (2:17 NASB).
