Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”
Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Nehemiah 4:1-3
When God was talking to Nehemiah about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, God said something out of the ordinary. He told Nehemiah to use the burned stones. More specifically, use the stones that have been through the fire; the stones that are charred and blackened. *(The ones that had been through the fire—the ones that had been tried and tested, He said, build with those stones).
And the Ammonites mocked Nehemiah because he used the burned stones. They didn’t believe the stones would be strong enough because they were “stones from a rubbish heap – and charred ones at that.”
Have you ever heard the saying… *what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
What about the *bumper sticker—yeah but did it kill you?
Here’s what I want to say:
*dont allow it to make you bitter—allow it to make you better and the bigger person.
*you may have gone through something, but you don’t have to smell like it. (3HC)
The Ammonites didn’t think Nehemiah should have built with those stones, but God said, “That’s the exact kind of stone I want you to use.” When God wants to do something, He doesn’t always look for the “perfect” stone. He doesn’t always look for “perfect” people. He often uses people that have been through the fire. He prefers to use the stones that have been burned and charred.
Maybe you’ve been burned by the fires of life. Maybe you’ve been burned by a failure. Maybe you’ve been burned by a mistake. Maybe you’ve been burned by some business deal. Maybe you’ve been burned by someone.
You’re the stone God wants to use! The fires you’ve been through make you even more suitable to be used by God. When God wants to build something great, He looks for people that have been through the fire. It’s okay that your life isn’t perfect. You’ve been through the fire and withstood the test—God wants to build something with you.
No matter how good you are or how perfect you think you may be we are we are all human. We all have flaws and we all have imperfections. We all have those moments in our lives where we’ve been burnt by something or someone.
The encouraging thing about this passage is that God chooses to use us in spite of ourselves. As leaders we lead and as leaders we build, and God chooses to use the things that we’ve been through to build upon. Those things that we went through that we thought would destroy us, but actually they developed us. Charred and burnt stones, but tried and tested and strong enough to build upon.
So here’s a prayer we could pray for God to build upon:
“Lord, Teach me to number my days, so that I may become wise in how I live my life.” Psalm 90:12 ERV
“Lord, our God, be kind to us. Make everything we do successful. Yes, make it all successful.” Psalm 90:17 ERV
Amen
