Codes for Christian Living
Motivate Your People to Get Off Dead Center
Then I said to them, “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me, and also of the king’s words that he had spoken to me. So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.
—NEHEMIAH 2:17–18
Nehemiah was wise enough to know that before the actual process of rebuilding Jerusalem’s burned gates and broken wall could begin, he first needed to build a team spirit among the workers by motivating them to action—to get off dead center, where they had been stuck for years.
Nehemiah was able to convince the people to adopt his vision because he followed three vital rules in goal setting. First, he made certain his goal of rebuilding was conceivable. That is, he made sure those around him could easily envision the plan of where they were going and how they were going to get there. Next, he made sure his goal of rebuilding was believable. These were goals his people could believe in. These men and women had been living in discouragement for years and needed to believe in something again. Hear his challenge: “Let’s do it. We can get this done. The hand of our God is with us” (Nehemiah 2:17–18, author’s paraphrase). The people not only conceived the goal, but they also began to believe it could be accomplished. Finally, Nehemiah made sure his goal was achievable. This goal was not outside their reach. They could do it. They could rebuild the broken wall. It was conceivable, believable, and it was achievable.
Nehemiah encouraged them: “You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach” (2:17). He reminded the people that God was with them—orchestrating, leading, and moving behind the scenes. And they got it. Listen to them rally to the task: “So they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ Then they set their hands to this good work” (2:18).
Content drawn from The Nehemiah Code: It's Never Too Late for a New Beginning.