God’s people faced severe opposition in the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem after returning from Babylonian captivity, which is probably why they had not completed the task in the 90 years before Nehemiah. And once they started the monumental task, their enemies (particularly Sanballat and Tobiah) countered them at every turn. Nevertheless, Nehemiah recorded, “So we built the wall” (Neh. 4:6). Underscore the word “so,” emphasizing that they were going to complete the work, regardless of the attempts to stop them. The great restorer revealed what was driving them: “…for the people had a mind to work.”
Think about that. They hadn’t rebuilt the wall for 90 years. It would be easy to just let it remain in rubble. Opposition was all around them. It would be easy to just back off. But they didn’t. And, even more, they couldn’t. They were minded to finish the task and knew the Lord would help them. What about us? Do we (do you? do I?) have a mind to work? Will we stop at nothing to do get things done for our God? Will we resist the urge to let up and back off in our effort?