When you think of Nehemiah, do you think about rebuilding a wall? I think about the long list of people circling together to put back into place the crumbled mortar and scattered stones and splintered wood left behind from the enemy. I also think about the workers with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. I think about the cupbearer of a king being held in exile but given the liberty to return home for a task much larger than himself.
But what about after the wall was restored? How do people return to a place that hasn’t been home for many years? It was hard. Habits had been abandoned. Traditions only memories.
Athletes talk about muscle memory. Training to get into shape. Teaching the body to accept hard things. Moving to breathe. Breathing to move. Building endurance. Strengthening core muscles to support posture.
Ask them what happens when they have to stop for a period of time. When they are pulled away from what they know, from what their bodies know, former abilities may fade. Without consistent practice strength lessens. Weakness develops. The body begins to change from lack of use.
Then ask them what happens when they return to training. The first day is hard. It may feel like you have never done it before. Your lungs burn. Legs shake. Arms desperately want to drop down. The weight is too much. The second and third day may bring to the workout sore muscles that really don’t want to be attacked again.
After the initial shock, the body begins to remember. Returning to dedicated practice restores what had been lost.
What practice have you abandoned? Nehemiah had to remind the people about what had been left abandoned. They had to put back into practice what had been forsaken. Dedicated return to what mattered.
Maybe the restoration looks different than before. But maybe its sweeter. Maybe returning to what was lost brings some muscle memory that protects from straining. Returning, reconditioning, restoring.
Have you had a set-back? Has something or someone kept you from being intentional for God? What restoration project do you need to tackle to return to the post God has for you? What practice will you implement to make it happen?
Go do it.
