Put your shoulder into it

Have you ever had TWO unrelated messages come to you at the same time and give you a revelation you were not anticipating?

The other morning I was reading Nehemiah 3 where the rebuilding of Jerusalem is being described. And each of the families built their sections and verse after verse is describing what each section the families were building. The teamwork of these families to rebuild the City of God is a great demostration of the role that each member plays in the church to further the Kingdom of God.

When I read verse 5, it caught my attention:

'Next to them the Tekoites made repairs; but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.

Nehemiah 3:5 https://www.bible.com/bible/114/NEH.3.5

I found it interesting that they "did not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord" and wondered how often when we are volunteering, do we go through the motions and NOT "Put our shoulders into it"? Maybe you are having a "rough day", did not "sleep well", not "feeling it"..

Or maybe, as some us get a little older we think "That is for the younger generation" or "They don't want an old guy like me getting in the way"

This is where the second message came in. After pondering that for a few minutes, I switched to Facebook and saw a post from Pastor Frank Damazio (Official Frank Damazio - YouTube). He had posted a "reel" from his son's church (Rose Church - YouTube) in Portland, OR. In this clip, Pastor Andrew Damazio was speaking about Caleb taking the mountain of his inheritance at age 85.

In Joshua 14:12, Caleb says

'Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”'

Joshua 14:12 https://www.bible.com/bible/114/JOS.14.12

Tying these two messages together that morning, I realized that God does not want us to just "ride the wave". We are not called to simply "do our part" but rather are called to "Put our shoulders into it" and take the mountain that God has given us as an inheritance. God will be with us and we will be able to do what "He has said" and do what He has given us to do.