Nehemiah 4:6
Kristen Stanton Patz
says, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” I remember watching old western movies or reading books as a child 
where people would be out mending their fences around their ranches so that their cattle couldn’t get out and predator animals couldn’t get in. I grew up in the country – I understood about predator animals. At times during the summer I would hear the coyotes howling in the distance. Our lives are no different. We have to mend our fences. In this verse it tells us that they built a wall. They knew that they needed a wall in order to keep their enemies at bay. But the wall didn’t magically build itself – the people were willing to work. In order to get to this point they had to recognize a few things:
1. There was an enemy. Do we recognize that there is an enemy?
2. Who the enemy was – the enemy wasn’t the person working alongside them next door.
3. That they needed a wall. In order to be motivated to work they had to understand that they needed a level of protection.
4. That they needed to work together – it would do no good for one to build a wall out behind their house and their neighbor not build one. It needed to be joined together with no holes, no gaps. As we look at our own lives, do we understand that we have an enemy that wants to destroy us? Do we understand who that enemy is? The Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. If you want to protect your family, ask God to show you your own weaknesses and get those fixed first.
Then work on those things that may lead to breaches in your relationships. Ask God to put a barrier around your marriage and family — but be willing to fix things along the way. At the end of the day, we as Christians need to lay aside our differences. We need to mend our fences. We need to bridge the gaps. We need to secure the wall. God is ultimately in control – but we have to have a mind to work. Are you willing to work? Are you willing to work together? Let’s hold the line against Satan. Let’s stand together as one.
