Monthly Archives: March 2025

5 Lessons from Nehemiah on Pursuing God-Given Dreams

Do you have big dreams? Something that you believe God wants you to do, something that’s bigger than yourself?

There’s a small book in the Old Testament called Nehemiah; it goes hand in hand with the book of Ezra. Both men were contemporaries and worked together to rebuild Jerusalem when those who had been exiled to Babylon began to return to the city. Ezra was a scribe and a religious leader. Nehemiah led the charge to rebuild the wall.

Nehemiah’s Story

When the book of Nehemiah starts, we see that he has a high position in the court of Persia. He serves as the cupbearer to the king, but he has a burden to return to Jerusalem and help his people rebuild the wall to protect the city so that others can return. The king grants him leave, and he travels to Jerusalem.

He doesn’t tell everybody his plan. Instead, he slips out at night, taking only a few people with him, and inspects the wall. Only then does he gather the leaders of the city and tell him his plans, and they get to work. They are met with obstacles along the way–men who tried to get them to stop the work. But Nehemiah forges ahead. He prays and asks God for protection; then they split the people in half. Half the people continue to work on the wall; the other half stand guard.

Even despite disruptions, the wall gets rebuilt in 52 days. It’s an amazing feat and a great story. To get the full picture, you have to read the book. But there are some really good lessons to pull out of the book of Nehemiah, specifically when it comes to doing something that God has laid on your heart to do.

Lessons from Nehemiah

1. Make sure your dream is from God

Nehemiah had a passion and desire to help rebuild the wall in Jerusalem, but he acknowledges that that burden came from God. It wasn’t something he came up with on his own.

I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 2:12 NLT

There are so many good things to get passionate about, to devote our time to. I believe God gives us passions and desires and dreams to help people and help make things better. When we decide to go after one of these dreams and do something about it, we just have to make sure that it’s God who is directing and leading us and not ourselves.

2. Keep It to Yourself

This is where so many of us go wrong. We get really excited about what we believe God is leading us to do, and we start telling everybody about it. The problem is, people are often discouraging. They see all the problems with your dreams and all the reasons your plans won’t succeed. True, those problems may be real, but with God’s help, you can overcome them. But if we tell the wrong people and get discouraged and overwhelmed, we may never even start the thing we know God wants us to.

Don’t tell anybody to start with; just pray about it and begin to plan. Nehemiah didn’t tell anybody when he entered the city that he was making a plan to rebuild the wall. When he made his tour of the broken down wall, it was at night for a reason.

I had not told anyone about the plans God had put in my heart for Jerusalem.

Nehemiah 2:12 NLT

3. Tell only a few safe people about your dreams

When you are ready to tell others about it, only tell people that are “safe.” Only tell those who really love you and want to see you succeed in life, who love God and won’t feel threatened by God’s plan for your life.

Nehemiah only took a few people with him on that night trip around the city. It doesn’t seem to make sense until we see what happens next. Once Nehemiah does make known his plans, here come the men that begin to oppose the work.

I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me.

Nehemiah 2:12 NLT

4. Don’t Give Up When People Oppose You

As soon as the people decide to follow Nehemiah and start rebuilding the wall, their enemies showed up.

Then I told them about how the gracious hand of God had been on me, and about my conversation with the king.

They replied at once, “Yes, let’s rebuild the wall!” So they began the good work.

But when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab heard of our plan, they scoffed contemptuously. “What are you doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” they asked.

Nehemiah 2:18,19

There are always going to be those who oppose what you’re doing. They won’t understand; they may even try to stop you. You have to choose to ignore those people and instead, focus on the task God’s given you.

We’ve had really good people over the years try to talk us out of what we know God’s called us to do–pastors even. That’s hard. You begin to second-guess yourself and doubt. That’s why you have to be so certain that this is God’s plan in the first place. But once you’re certain of that, you can hold your ground and go after that dream with all your heart.

5. Pray and then Do the Work

When Nehemiah hears that their enemies were making plans to come and fight them, he does two things. He prays, and he sets a guard around the city wall. He doesn’t just pray and sit back and do nothing. Nor does he make a plan without talking to God. He does both.

But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

Nehemiah 4:9

When our enemies heard that we knew of their plans and that God had frustrated them, we all returned to our work on the wall.But from then on, only half my men worked while the other half stood guard with spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail.

Nehemiah 4:15,16

We have to do both as well. When attacks and criticism come (and they will), we go to God first. We pray and ask for his help and courage and strength to continue on. Then we make a plan and get to work. The best thing you can do for your critics is prove them wrong by accomplishing that dream God’s laid on your heart.

Nehemiah and his team finish the wall in record time. He completes the task God burdened him with, and he rejoices in the finished work. By following these five principles, we can do the same. We can go after the dream that God has given us and see it accomplished in our lifetime.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Never Give Up on Your Dreams or check out Matt’s book, Breakthrough: Transforming the Death of a Dream to the Birth of a Breakthrough.

5 Ways to Deal with Anxiety

God’s Answer for Anxiety

God understood that we have anxious thoughts, but He didn’t leave us without an answer. He gave us a solution for when we feel anxious.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6,7

God understood our tendency to worry, so he told us what to do. He told us to pray about it and talk to Him about it, and then thank God for all he has done for us. Then He told us what the result would be—peace. The older I get, the more I realize what a gift peace is! That’s it. The answer to our anxious thoughts—pray about it and be grateful.

That sounds great, but how do we do this practically speaking. Here are five ways to push away anxiety.

1. Go for a walk.

Sometimes, when anxiety feels like it’s crippling me, I get out the door and go for a walk. I talk to God and tell Him what’s on my heart. Then I listen. And sometimes, that’s it. And then, maybe I’ll put on my audiobook or some music; but the anxiety starts to recede. I feel like I can face the day again.

2. Listen to uplifting music that puts your focus back on God.

Listening to music that points my attention to God helps soothe my spirit and brings peace and calm. It says the words for me that I can’t say right now through the language of music.

3. Read the Bible before bed.

One of the most anxious times is at night when we go to bed. I’m not sure why it is, but nighttime is the worst for anxiety. To help with that, I read a Psalm every night before I go to bed and pick a verse to think about as I drift off to sleep. I can’t tell you what a difference it makes!

4. Talk it Out

There is something about talking out your anxiety. There is power in the darkness, but when we bring light to the darkness, shadows dissipate. When we talk out loud to God, we hear the words we’re saying. I don’t know the science behind it, but it makes a difference. Talking out loud to God brings a deep peace.

5. Gratitude

Practice being thankful. There is a direct coorelation between gratitude and worry. It’s impossible to be thankful and worried at the same time. Try it. It doesn’t work. Find ways to incorporate more gratitude into your day. I do this each morning in my Faithfully Stepping Journal. It’s also fun to create a gratitude journal; we did this at the beginning of the year.

The next time you feel anxious thoughts taking over, try one of these ideas.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, 3 Steps to Releasing Worry and Fear.

My Favorite Books of the Bible

My Favorite Books to Study:

Habakkuk
Ecclesiastes
I Peter and 2 Peter
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians
James
Job

These are the books of the Bible that I get the most excited about studying. I know there is so much good stuff in there, and I can’t wait to draw it out. There are also verse after verse underlined in these books that just remind me how much I love God’s Word. I need a journal and a pen when I study these books. There’s so much richness to them.

My favorite book for encouragement:

Psalms

When my heart is discouraged, I turn to the Psalms. Reading the book of Psalms is the antidote for an anxious heart. I read a Psalm every night before bed to help calm my mind before I sleep.

My Favorite Gospel

Matthew

I love all the Gospels, so it’s hard to pick. But Matthew comes out on top for me.

My Go-To Book for Wisdom:

Proverbs

When I need wisdom for a choice or decision I need to make or for a certain time in my life, Proverbs is my go-to book.

My Favorite Books that Give Me a Challenge:

Isaiah

Minor Prophets:

Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zachariah
Malachi

(Yes, Hosea is excluded. That book just makes me sad. And Habakkuk is on the list further up of my favorite books to study.) I love the challenge that each of these books present. You have to work at it, but you always find a gem in there. And when you do, it makes it so worth it.

These are some of my favorite books of the Bible to read and study. What are your favorites?

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Simple Steps to Get Back to Reading Your Bible Each Day. If you like the idea of journaling, check out my Faithfully Stepping Journals.

Habakkuk: From What if to Even If

Conversation between God and Habakkuk

In this short book, we are given a glimpse of a conversation between God and Habakkuk that is absolutely fascinating to study. God tells Habakkuk that the Babylonian empire, as cruel and evil as they are, is going to rise and take over Judah. Habakkuk is shocked and grieved and obviously terrified. He understands that God is judging Judah for their sins, but with Babylon? Babylon is even more wicked. God tells him to be patient. The time for Babylon’s judgment will come, but he will use them to judge his own people.

Habakkuk was given clear insight into the coming judgement. God’s words came to pass, as they always do. And the Babylonians invade Judah and destroy it and carry off its citizens. This is the last time the Jews have their own nation until the 1950s.

Habakkuk’s Response

If you haven’t read Habakkuk, it’s sobering and so worth reading and studying. It’s only three chapters long, but there’s a lot packed in there. My favorite part of the book comes in the last few verses, but before that is Habakkuk’s response of fear.

I trembled inside when I heard this;
    my lips quivered with fear.
My legs gave way beneath me,
    and I shook in terror.
I will wait quietly for the coming day
    when disaster will strike the people who invade us.

Habakkuk 3:16

That one verse gives us such an insight into what Habakkuk is thinking and feeling, similar to what we would feel if we’d been told our country was going to be invaded as part of God’s judgement.

Some of my Favorite Verses

And yet, the very next set of verses are some of Habakkuk’s finest and some of my most favorite.

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
    and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
    and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
    and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
    I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
    He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
    able to tread upon the heights.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Agricultural Society

To understand these words, we have to remember that he lived in an agricultural society. Crops were everything. To have no crops, no fruit, no animals…this was devastation of their entire commerce system. This was starvation and desperation.

And yet, look how he responds. Even though all this happens, and it would, he says, “I will choose to rejoice. I will be joyful in God. God is my strength.” These thoughts from Habakkuk blow my mind. How can he respond this way?

Habakkuk’s Choice

The reason he could respond this way was that he had made a choice. He had already made the choice to serve God and joy in Him no matter what. So his what if was turned to even if. His worry of what if this happens turned to Even if this happens, I will trust God.

I don’t know what you might be facing right now. It may seem like you’re in a what if situation. How do you get through? You choose even if. Even if the bottom falls out, I will choose to trust God and find my joy in Him. Even if I get this diagnosis, I choose to trust God and find joy in Him. God is so much greater than our circumstances. We can find joy, no matter what comes our way. Because our joy is not dependent on circumstances.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, A Roadmap to Building Deep Faith.