“Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” (Neh. 2:17)
Expanded Passage: Nehemiah 1:1-11; 2:4-5, 11-12, 17-18
Jerry Jenkins was not a household name until 1998, when the Left Behind series swept the nation. It’s easy to think he sprang up out of nowhere. Aspiring authors may envy his apparent good luck and wish their books could hit the best-seller lists as easily as his do. It’s a false picture, though. Actually, Jerry had been working in the publishing world long before he became famous. He served as the editor of Moody magazine and had published numerous lesser-known books before his end-times series came out. He had laid the groundwork for his success by working diligently for years.
We sometimes expect the work to which God calls us to be easy and quickly accomplished. I’ve had authors submit work to me that they scribbled on paper, saying, “God gave this to me in a dream.” Perhaps God really did give them the message to share; their task now was to hone their writing skill and craft their words. This is true in other areas as well: in giving, relationships, fighting for social justice, and living holy lives. We have to be diligent and hardworking.
Nehemiah understood this. God called him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, but before he rallied the people for the job, he inspected the walls himself. He had a big job to do, and he was ready.
Lay the groundwork for what God has called you to.
HC Wilson is General Superintendent Emeritus of The Wesleyan Church. He and his wife, Debby, reside in New Brunswick, Canada.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
