Most people prefer a comfortable lie over an inconvenient truth.
They sugarcoat reality. They downplay their problems. They avoid the hard questions because hard questions demand hard answers.
But Nehemiah? He wasn’t afraid to look at the ruins.
He wasn’t a pessimist—he didn’t drown in despair. He wasn’t a naïve optimist—he didn’t pretend things were fine. He was a realist.
And reality is the foundation of every successful rebuilding effort.
We inhabit a world obsessed with immediacy. Everything—our careers, relationships, even our spirituality—demands instant gratification. If we’re not moving, we assume we’re stagnating. But this is a false presupposition, an illusion constructed by an impatient culture. The truth is that God does not adhere to human timelines. He is not rushed. He is not pressured. And, as hard as it may be to accept, He is never late.
Nehemiah understood this. He had a vision—a burden, a calling. He saw the broken walls of Jerusalem and longed to rebuild. Yet, for months, he remained still. He waited. He prayed. He resisted the urge to act prematurely. And because of that, when the moment of opportunity came, he was ready.
