The rebuilding of the wall continued and like any good remodeling project you will have those that like what you are doing and those that would rather have it another way.  A quick read of chapter four of Nehemiah gives us a look into some fellows attitudes towards the walls going back up.  They are furious, jealous, angry, they scoffed, they schemed and they started dissention among the workers. They were catapulting anything and everything the way of Nehemiah and his workers. 

I have done a few home projects in my life and I sometimes have a disagreement with my wife over colors (she wins) or maybe my dad over how high quality the replacement item should be (the customer wins) or even with myself over the amount of time it should actually take to complete the project (no one wins).  Sometimes we even have issues with our neighbors or home associations over the kind of job getting down, but rarely our life is threatened by someone else.  They were starting to have it really bad in Jerusalem.

It was so bad that it was said that “the common laborers carried on their work with one hand supporting their load and one hand holding a weapon. All the builders had a sword belted to their side.”(4:17)  Those that oppose what you are doing will go to no ends to see you fail and make like hard. It is pretty hard to work while you are worried about getting sucker punched by some guy walking by.

Which made me think about how hard it was for me to drink my coffee this last Thanksgiving.

You see my brother (www.johnfehlen.com) and I still act like kids even though we are grown men with families. One kid thing we still do is sucker punch each other when the other is not ready and when no one else in the room can see. Not a hard hit, but enough to let the other know they have let their guard down.  We took this to a whole new level this year. While drinking my morning coffee my brother gave me a good flick to the gut. Good shot but I was not going to let this one go unpunished.  So while he was in the shower moments later I unlocked the door and quietly entered to dump a large amount of cold water on him. As he screamed I quoted Nehemiah to him “remember when working on the wall make sure you never let your guard down”.

Yes that is a misquote but he got the picture, be ready for the sucker punch at any moment.  These kind of antics are fun and can keep life fun and adventurous, but no one expects someone to get hit while they are painting, hammering or just going about life helping others.  As they were in the process of rebuilding a city they had to prepare themselves for the sucker punch. And so do you when you are trying to do something good in an area that is in need of rebuilding.

Be prepared as you are about doing good for those around you to experience the punch to the gut. Usually from those that don’t care for what you are doing. Many times they will come from your biggest supporters but mostly it will come from those that gain a benefit from a city in disarray. Ultimately these kind of sucker punches never feel good. Take heart what you are doing is good and must continue through the adversity.