Phases of Diligence

UV 1649/10000 Phases of Diligence
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.
Jeremiah 48 v 10
If we do our work that the Lord has called us to do negligently and without due diligence, we invite His curse. Diligence and excellence are the marks of a person who faithfully executes the will of the Lord. Nehemiah is one such biblical personality who received a calling from the Lord. He diligently studied the task at hand, formulated a plan and a strategy to carry it out. He began his work with fasting and prayer, asking the Lord to bless his mission. He could have continued to enjoy the comforts and perks of being cup bearer to the king but he left his comfort zone and travelled back to Israel. He surveyed the ruined walls and gates. The Lord revealed to him the details of the plan. He supervised the execution of the plan diligently. He assigned responsibilities and prepared the people for emergencies like attacks by enemies to stop them from building. The ruined walls of Jerusalem were re-built in 52 days or a little more than seven weeks.
Nehemiah initially told no one the vision and mission the Lord had given him. He did not want any leak of the plan prematurely. He received the details of the plan and prepared different segments of the community in Jerusalem to participate. He perceived the threats to the work and asked the people to carry their building tools in one hand and a sword in the other hand. Different segments of the wall were assigned to different groups or teams of people. Nehemiah used his influence with the king to mobilise sufficient resources to complete the wall. He got edicts issued with the seal of the king to obtain wood and other materials required for building the wall.
If we do our work faithfully and diligently, we will be blessed with success in it. We need to spend time in prayer asking for the Lord’s guidance. Thereafter, we must plan carefully and pay close attention to the details. Nehemiah motivated the demoralised people of Jerusalem and united them with a common vision and plan. He provided proactive leadership by aniticipating troubles and threats. He was firm and steadfast in his resolve. He took firm actions to weed out anyone who tried to infiltrate their ranks. He admonished the nobles for exploiting the poor people and was just in his decisions. He checked if everyone did their apportioned work properly. There are different phases of diligence: diligence in prayer, diligence in planning, diligence in execution, diligence in defence against perceived threats and diligence in follow through.

Prateep V Philip