I recently drove by a huge house that is about halfway finished. The brick on the house is completed, and the roof has been finished, but it lacks doors and windows. You can see that the inside of the house remains unfinished. A lot of work remains to be done before the house could be livable.
This house has been sitting like this for several years. I don’t know why the project was abandoned, but it seems a shame that so much work and money was invested in it, only to have the effort go to waste.
When Nehemiah and his co-workers were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, they nearly abandoned the project when it was halfway finished. Though much progress had been made, there was still a lot of work to be done. The workers were tired, and the threats of their enemies had discouraged them to the point where they didn’t feel like they could continue with this important work (Nehemiah 4:6,10).
Halfway finished is a dangerous place to be. Many couples walk away from a marriage when they are halfway to their 50th wedding anniversary. Some parents bail out in the middle of raising their children. Some people leave the church after faithfully following Jesus for years.
Discouragement has been called one of Satan’s greatest tools. We have to realize this and fight against his evil schemes.
Nehemiah rallied his people, and they succeeded in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.
With godly leadership and encouragement, we can get past the dangerous halfway point and successfully complete our mission.
Who knows? Maybe you can be the one who encourages someone else to go on, even though they feel like giving up.
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”—Hebrews 10:24.
Jesustrek 