They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” Nehemiah 2:18

What did it take for Nehemiah to get this kind of response from the priests, the nobles, the officials, and everyone else in the administration of the Jews in Jerusalem who knew nothing about who he was, why he had come, or what he planned to do? How did he convince them in such a short time? A carefully planned powerpoint presentation? A powerful motivational message?

No, this is what he told them: “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king. (Nehemiah 2:17-18)

It was the realization that God was with Nehemiah that did it. For the king of Persia, the empire that had led them into captivity in the first place to turn around and let Nehemiah return to rebuild the city and its walls, and to guarantee his safe passage through enemy territory by official edicts from the king along with a military escort, was proof that God’s hand was on him. If God would miraculously bring Nehemiah to them, would He not miraculously help them carry out this work? The power of God was undeniable, the impossibility of the task was a guarantee of that. They would never be able to do this without divine intervention. They said yes, because they knew they would be participating in a miracle to get it done.

Think of Gideon’s 300 men against 120,000, or Joshua’s army circling Jericho seven times and blowing horns while the inhabitants looked on and laughed, or these leaders listening to Nehemiah’s preposterous plan to rebuild the wall. By answering the call they were saying that they would rather be part of a miracle or die trying, than to sit at home cowering in fear. Does that sound familiar. Are you facing anything like this? Let’s be honest here: the world is getting to be such a scary place that to step into it at any point is going to take courage — a step of faith.

That’s why our vision: to introduce the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to Everyone, Everywhere, seems like an impossibility, because it is, and we are counting on God to enable us to do it. If our vision was doable by human means, efforts and resources, how would we know that God was with us? Do we pat ourselves on the back here, or do we participate in a miracle, and when someone asks how we did that, we will proclaim that the kingdom of God has come. Hallelujah!

You know when you are being carried along by a surge of faith. You can hardly believe yourself. God loves this. He loves to put our faith on notice where we are stretched beyond ourselves. Do you want to have enough faith to go to heaven some day, or do you want a surge of faith that puts you out beyond your comfort zone where you are acting at all times on behalf of the kingdom of God in the world?