“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lines in ruins with its gates burned. Come let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” Nehemiah 2:17
No city, nation, or person can be secure without a good defense. Cities once had walls. Nations had borders, and people … what do we have. Well, we have our homes with doors that can let in friends and keep out those who seek to do us harm.
More importantly, we have the Word of God, which is our surest defense - our spiritual wall. By it we are protected from our greatest enemies - Satan and the world. And yet, through it we welcome our greatest friend - Christ Jesus, who enters in by the “gate of faith.”
Just as Nehemiah put his hand to the wall of Jerusalem, we are called to put our hands - and hearts - to the Word of God. We are called to make it our sure defense against the world and the devil, rather than neglecting it.
The kings of the world would love us to neglect God’s Word, to see it in ruins upon the ground, but our true king calls us to do otherwise. He calls us to be like Nehemiah - to build up the wall of His Word in our hearts.
Prayer: Lord God, may your Word be my sure defense against all sin and evil, against the ways of Satan and the World. Make your Word a wall around my heart - an impenetrable wall with strong gates that keep out the enemy but allow in friends - those who love you. This I pray in the name of my greatest friend, Jesus Christ. Amen.