Useless baggage.

Nehemiah did not attempt the work of restoration while he was loaded down with useless baggage.

We need to learn this lesson today. God does not require vast enterprises of men in order to accomplish His work. God ordinarily does not use masses of people, organizations, committees, complex financial designs, human planning.

What God looks for is a Nehemiah, an Ezra, an Esther—for some person who will commit himself or herself to the work of the Lord without reservation. God is looking for individuals who know Him and will obey Him.

If God burdens you to perform some task of the work of restoration, do not load yourself down with baggage. One donkey is all anyone can ride. God is the Worker who performs the restoration. We are the visible representation of Him. Therefore, we do not need all the human trappings to support our efforts, as though we were going to do the job by means of our wisdom, wealth, and strength. Our baggage, devices, ideas, and other paraphernalia may only clutter the work at hand.

Let us walk hand in hand with God, trusting in the anointing of His Holy Spirit to build the Kingdom of God.

The "valley of decision."

And I went out by night by the gate of the valley, . . . . (Nehemiah 2:13)

The valley of the Scripture is the "valley of decision."

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:14)

One of the most important concepts of the work of restoration is that of the valley of decision. Notice that the valley of decision is associated with the nearness of the Day of the Lord.

The work of restoration will proceed, as we have said, until it will be climaxed triumphantly by the return of the Lord Jesus to the earth. But the coming of the Lord brings every man, every woman, every boy, every girl, to the point of decision.

It appears the churches tend to view the return of the Lord Jesus, and the resurrection from the dead, as being massive movements of peoples in which all believers will have a part. We Christians desire to experience the joy and delights of escape from the pain of this world, to obtain entrance into the beauty and wonder of the spirit Paradise.

But our hope is only partly valid. In actual fact, the return of the Lord Jesus and the resurrection from the dead will be intensely personal experiences. The Presence of the Lord will confront us as an individual. The Voice of the Lord will call us from the dead by name, just as Jesus called Lazarus. The resurrection to immortality is a supreme expression of the love of the Lord Jesus for the saint.

The Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. Christ is drawing near to the earth. His nearness is being experienced first by those who are seeking Him with single-minded intensity and fervor. He is nearest to those who are drawing near to Him.

But His nearness always brings us into the valley of decision. Christ always is asking if we love Him. The Lord primarily is interested in our love for Him. Do we truly love Him? We think we do. But as He draws ever nearer to us we discover we love many other things, including our own self.

To be continued.