Continue the Work
Bradon: Hey Jon, Do you ever get distracted?
Jon: You know I get distracted. I think everyone loses their focus regularly. Hey, do you want coffee?
Bradon: Nice try – I am focused. Today we will learn that continuing the work is very important and requires focus.
Discussion Episode
Nehemiah 6
About the Story
Jon: We are looking at the book of Nehemiah and have learned some very valuable lessons. We are sharing today’s story from Nehemiah, chapter six.
Bradon: In the last episode, we saw the wealthy Israelites, who people considered the upper class, taking advantage of the other Israelites by lending them money with interest.
Jon: Some of the families of those needing to borrow money were then being sold back into slavery when they couldn’t pay back these loans. It was not good.
Bradon: Nehemiah rebuked the rich lenders for lending with interest and making life hard. The wealthy forgave the debt of those who borrowed from them, and they no longer oppressed their fellow Israelites.
Jon: Last week, we learned the importance of practicing God-like Character.
Application
Bradon: I cannot think of any construction project with more distractions for the project manager and the workers. Nehemiah and the Israelites were taunted, threatened, lied to, and Nehemiah even had well-respected Israelites try and stop and delay the work.
Jon: The extra security they needed to bring together delayed the project, yet they still got it done in 52 days. They were determined and focused on continuing the work no matter what.
Bradon: They were, and I think this is our lesson today.
Jon: Many things can distract us from what God calls us to. Sometimes these things are harmless or good in the proper context.
Bradon: What do you mean by that?
Jon: Well, sometimes we put our energies and focus into something that isn’t part of God’s call on our lives or isn’t the priority. For example, video games, social media, sports, or music are not necessarily bad, but if they become a distraction to what God calls us to, they can harm us.
Bradon: That makes sense. With that reasoning, even certain relationships could take our focus away from following God. Good things often put our focus elsewhere.
Jon: Like Coffee.
Bradon: I do love a good cup of coffee. I still have yet to show you the new coffee machine me and my wife bought as a wedding present for ourselves! It has upped my coffee game significantly.
Jon: Yes, a good thing can distract very easily. Nehemiah’s enemies used a lot of distractions to prevent him from finishing the wall. Many of those things were evil, and some seemed promising, but they were all deterrents from continuing the work.
Bradon: That is the lesson for today. Whatever God has called you to continue the work.
Jon: How do we know what God has called us to?
Bradon: That’s a great question, and we are going to look at that in the discussion episode, so stay tuned.
