Nehemiah 1:1-4
[1] Now when the wall had been built and I had set up the doors, and the gatekeepers, the singers, and the Levites had been appointed, [2] I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah the governor of the castle charge over Jerusalem, for he was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many. [3] And I said to them, “Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot. And while they are still standing guard, let them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, some at their guard posts and some in front of their own homes.” [4] The city was wide and large, but the people within it were few, and no houses had been rebuilt.
Nehemiah and the people of Israel have just finished an amazing feat. They built the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days. He then begins to feel God is calling him to do another work, which we’ll see soon is to put together a list of the exiles who have returned to Israel.
He doesn’t try to do both things though, he delegates.
Sometimes God calls leaders to do many different things at different times, and sometimes we misunderstand what he’s saying and try to do it all for ourselves. God wants us to involve other people in ministry, but often we don’t.
And what happens when we don’t involve other people? We burn out, we get frustrated… and sometimes we just quit.
When instead, we could’ve delegated, allowing other people to help us in ministry. Now, I’m not saying that we should give it all to someone who can’t handle it… notice that Nehemiah gave it to a man who “was a more faithful and God-fearing man than many.”
I think many times ministers and Christian leaders burn out because we try to do it all. We feel that God has called us to do this, and, of course, “no one could do it as well as me.” Then, as we begin to tire, we feel like no one wants to help in the ministry… because we haven’t allowed anyone to.
Nehemiah followed God’s leading, and appointed (delegated) someone to take over, who he knew he could trust, someone he knew feared the Lord. He didn’t delegate to just anyone, but delegated to one who wanted to follow God’s leading…
When you’re feeling burned out – a) figure out what you can delegate, and find someone who is faithful to help you do that… and b) give it to God…
Sometimes you’ll feel like you can’t do it, that you’ll never be able to finish what you’ve started. I know that the Israelites felt that way when they were halfway through building the wall, so, just like Nehemiah said to them: “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome!”
Delegate and remember God, your loving Father, will help… and so will many people who are itching to get some ministry experience…
in Christ,
Isaiah
