It is one thing to know the urgency of work but quite another to be careful to know where to begin. How to know where to begin if one does not know where to start. A wise move would be to survey and estimate the extent of the ruin before planning the strategy to cover the ground. This was what Nehemiah did in chapter 2 verses 11 onward.
He came to Jerusalem now and instead of rushing blindly into the work he had come to do, he first rested before he went out and survey the land. Verse 11 said, he rested for three days before he began his survey. The rest was needed after the journey. It is not about working hard but working smart. When a person is exhausted, his effort will not yield effective results. Rest is an essential part of preparing for effective service to the Lord. Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us to rest in Him. He said, “ Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
A story was told of a lumberjack who went out to the forest with his saw to cut wood. After eight hours of doing so, he was exhausted. Besides, the saw that he was using to cut had lost its cutting edge. But he was still feverishly trying to cut more wood. A friend came by and realized how tired he was and the saw that had already lost its cutting edge. Realizing that he was wasting needless effort, so he told him to take a rest to sharpen his saw. But the former replies, “No, I can’t stop, there are a lot more woods to cut.”
The essence of the story is that we need to take time to rest and sharpen our jaded spirit. Besides like Nehemiah, we also need the time to consider and plan and know where to begin. The lesson from this one verse is that we need to pause and rest in the Lord. That’s the reason God included in the Ten Commandments the Sabbath rest. The rest allows us to sharpen our minds. It will also give us time to ponder and reflect and enable us to think more clearly and make better and more creative decisions. We will realize that we become more efficient and able to do more with less time. If you are exhausted, take time to rest in the Lord! Remember Matthew 11:28-20
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