September 20, 2026
There is something wonderfully ordinary about Nehemiah 6. The wall around Jerusalem is nearly finished. After months of hard work, the end is in sight. You might expect everyone to celebrate. Instead, the opposition intensifies.
First comes distraction. Sanballat and Geshem invite Nehemiah to a meeting in the plain of Ono. It sounds innocent enough, but Nehemiah recognises the trap. His response is memorable: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.”
Then comes intimidation. False accusations are made against him. The message is designed to make him afraid. Nehemiah’s response is not to panic or retaliate, but to pray: “Now strengthen my hands.”
Finally comes something even more subtle: fear is planted in Nehemiah’s imagination. “Men are coming to kill you,” he is told. Nehemiah refuses to allow fear to determine his actions.
And then, almost quietly, the chapter tells us: “So the wall was completed.”
There is something here for all of us. We can be distracted by good things that aren’t necessarily our things. We can become intimidated by criticism, opposition or circumstances. And we can allow fearful thoughts to become stories about what is going to happen—even though they haven’t happened. Nehemiah reminds us that faithfulness doesn’t mean we never feel afraid. It means fear doesn’t get the final word.
Perhaps this week we simply need to pray Nehemiah’s prayer:
“Lord, strengthen my hands.”
Strengthen my hands when I’m tired.
Strengthen my hands when I’m criticised.
Strengthen my hands when I don’t know what lies ahead.
Strengthen my hands when I’m tempted to give up.
And then help me pick up the next brick.
We don’t have to see the whole wall. We don’t have to silence every critic. We don’t have to know exactly how everything will turn out.
We simply need to remain faithful to what God has placed in front of us.
A task to complete.
A friend or family member to focus upon.
A commitment to carry through.
A love that we continue extending.
Stay on the wall. Keep building.
Julian Holdsworth
BSBC Pastor
