A Strategic Plan / Nehemiah 2:4-8
It is so good to be with you today. If you would, we are going back into the book of Nehemiah, specifically chapter two. Last week, Brad went at a super snail’s pace covering three verses. We’re going to go at Mach speed today and cover five, so put on your seatbelt.
If you are just joining us, for the past couple of weeks, we’ve been studying the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. If you’re unfamiliar with the context, Nehemiah was essentially an Israelite in captivity and exile. The Israelites were captured by the Babylonians, who were then captured by the Persians. Here, Nehemiah—much like Moses or Esther—is uniquely exalted by God in the midst of this slavery to work for the king of the pagan nation that conquered him.
We find Nehemiah serving as the cupbearer for the king, which was an exalted position, much like being the right-hand man of any leader. We saw in chapter one that while Nehemiah was sitting in a decked-out palace in the city of Susa, word reached him that his people back in Jerusalem were in desolation. The city was in ruins. Even though Nehemiah was physically far away, his heart was very near, and it was broken. He was crushed.
We’ve been talking about this idea of a “holy discontent.” It’s that feeling when something rubs you so wrong that you say, “Enough is enough.” You are hit with a place of brokenness where you need to see something change. You cannot sit any longer in your current position watching something horrible take place. That is where Nehemiah was. For the next four months after hearing the news, he went to the Lord in prayer. He was on his face begging, pleading, and confessing to God, broken over the sin of the people and his own sin.
It is convicting to read that in chapter one, isn’t it? To see a man so dedicated to prayer. It made me reflect on my own marriage and the times we’ve faced difficulties. There have been a few times where we had a financial crisis and didn’t know if we’d be able to pay the bills at the end of the month. Have you ever been there? When those times hit, the contrast between my wife and me was very interesting. The moment she heard the news that we might bounce a check, she went to her knees. She was in prayer. Meanwhile, I was in the back room on eBay, typing in, “What can I sell?” I was ready to sell the car, the house, the kids—whatever we needed to do to pay for this thing! Meanwhile, my wife was over there praying. It was a reminder that yes, we must go to the Lord in times of crisis.
Nehemiah has been in that place of prayer for four months, and now he finally decides to approach the king. He couldn’t take it any longer. He needed to ask for something to be done. Last week, we saw him go before the king in his sadness. This week, he is going to ask for permission to do something about the situation himself. He is essentially asking the king for a leave of absence so he can go home and rebuild his city.
We are now moving from the prayer life of Nehemiah to the plan of Nehemiah. While we see the importance of prayer, many of us struggle in the area of planning. We struggle with fleshing out ideas so that change can actually take place.
The Wisdom of a Strategic Plan
I’m sure many of us in this room have grandiose ideas for our lives. You have great plans: you want to make a lot of money, you want to lose weight in six days, you want that great job, or you want to marry an incredible person. Maybe your plans are noble and spiritual—you want to see the whole Western Seaboard redeemed for Jesus Christ. But in reality, most of us will never see those things come to fruition because we never took the time to think them through.
There are brilliant ideas floating around in our minds, but they will never be accomplished if we assume we can just lean on a shovel and pray for a hole. There has to be some digging. Without a plan, you’re no different than a hippie jumping on a love bus heading to Haight-Ashbury thinking, “Man, we’re going to redeem the summer!” Two weeks in, you’re asking your friend, “Did you bring money for food?” “No, I thought you were bringing it.” “Man, you smell, and I smell too. Where are we going to take a bath?” Pretty soon, everyone scrambles home because life can’t be sustained without thought and preparation.
Now, some might jump up and say, “Wait, you can’t overemphasize planning! What about James 4?”
James 4:13-15 (NASB)
Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are [just] a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, [you ought] to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’
Or what about Proverbs 27, which says we shouldn’t boast about tomorrow because we don’t know what a day may bring?
Proverbs 27:1 (NASB)
Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.
Some would argue that planning is unspiritual and that you just need to trust God. But those texts aren’t speaking out against planning; they are speaking against putting your confidence in your own wisdom rather than trusting in God. They speak against the person who assumes tomorrow is a given. They are not speaking against being a good steward who thinks things through.
We have many other texts that show us the wisdom of planning. Proverbs 6 tells us to be like the ants. We need to learn from them because they spend all day gathering in preparation for the days when there is no food.
Proverbs 6:6-8 (NASB)
Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler, Prepares her food in the summer [And] gathers her provision in the harvest.
In Luke 14, Jesus talks about discipleship and says that before you follow Him, you need to consider the cost. What king goes to war without thinking it through? What man builds a tower without first considering what he needs to finish it? There needs to be preparation and thought alongside prayer.
Luke 14:28-32 (NASB)
’For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? ’Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ ’Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand [men] to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ’Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.
We’re going to learn from Nehemiah today that faith in God does not exclude shrewdness and planning. In fact, planning is a crucial byproduct of a solid faith. When we trust God enough, we are willing to act out in obedience to His leading.
The Quick Prayer and the Respectful Approach
Let’s look at Nehemiah’s plan in chapter two, verses four through eight. Remember, Nehemiah has explained the situation to the king. In verse four, the king asks him, “What do you want then? What is it you’re asking of me?”
Before Nehemiah says anything, the text says, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” He throws out a quick “flare prayer.” We’ve all been there. It’s like Peter stepping out on the water and starting to sink, crying out, “Help!” It’s the shortest prayer in the Bible. I love what this says about prayer—it communicates that God is accessible anywhere, anytime, in any circumstance. He is so near to us that He longs for the prayers of His children.
The difference between Nehemiah’s quick prayer here and the one you might pray before a final exam is that his prayer was likely in total accordance with everything he had been praying for the past four months. In that moment of trembling fear, standing before a king who could take his life in an instant, he begins his request.
Nehemiah 2:4 (NASB)
Then the king said to me, ‘What would you request?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven.
Notice how he approaches the king in verse five. He says, “If it pleases the king.” There is an important lesson here about his wording and the respect he pays to this man. He may not respect the man’s character, but he respects the position enough to use sincere etiquette. He is essentially saying, “If God would line up your understanding with the one He’s given me, and if it would please you, here is what I want to ask.”
There’s a lesson for all of us on how to approach people. If you lead an organization or a business, you know how important it is to be approached the right way. This gets especially dangerous in the church. As a pastor, I’ve seen people who love to come “beat up” the pastor. They approach with venom shooting out of their teeth, making demanding requests without even a “hello.” They don’t acknowledge the years of service or who they even are. They just demand, “When are you going to get this ministry going? We’ve been doing this for thirty years and you aren’t doing it, so God’s hand must not be on this church!”
It makes me want to treat them like my four-year-old: “Alright, we’re going to go out of the room, turn around, come back in, and try this again. Hi, my name is Shay Sumlin, it’s good to meet you.” You aren’t going to get anything by approaching people with insults or anger. Nehemiah understands that he must approach this man with respect.
Banking on Character
Notice what else he says in verse five: “If your servant has found favor in your sight.”
Nehemiah 2:5 (NASB)
I said to the king, ‘If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.’
This is fascinating. Nehemiah is banking his request on his own faithfulness. He is saying that the decision of “yes” or “no” should rise or fall on who the king thinks he is and how well he has served.
So, how has Nehemiah been doing at work? Remember, this isn’t just a “secular” job; he is a slave in conquered territory. What kind of employee has he been to Artaxerxes? Has he been late? Has he been slacking? Has he been slandering the king behind his back? That would be easy to do in captivity. “This guy doesn’t even love God, he hates God, blah blah blah.” Has he been stealing from the king? Has he been habitually lazy?
Or has he been a faithful cupbearer and a great steward? Even in a kingdom far from God, he wanted to make it better as an employee. We see that while this request is sustained by the providence of God, the tool God uses to unlock the king’s heart is the work ethic of Nehemiah. Nehemiah has a holy discontent for the future, but the key to the door is how he has acted in the past. He uses his character as the barometer for the king’s decision.
Let me time out for a second. What is your holy discontent? What is the one thing stirring in you that makes you say, “Enough is enough”?
Is it your marriage? If you want a better marital environment, what kind of spouse have you been that gives you the credibility to unlock your spouse’s heart? If you want to see your workplace change, what kind of employee have you been that will unlock your boss’s approval? If you want to see your city reformed, what kind of citizen have you been that gives you the credibility to approach the leaders?
The betterment of this noble cause rested on the back of Nehemiah’s work ethic. How would you do? How would I do? It is a bold statement to stand before a king and say, “You can bank this whole thing on how I’ve acted toward you.” It takes incredible character to say that. Imagine the influence we could have if we stewarded the areas God has given us with excellence—not as unto the person we’re serving, but as unto our God.
The Specifics of the Plan
At the end of verse five, Nehemiah makes his request: “Send me to Judah, to the city of my father’s graves, that I may rebuild it.” He is asking to leave his job to go home and rebuild a city in ruins.
This was an absolutely amazing question because we know from Ezra 4 that this question had been asked before. Previously, the king had allowed people to return, but when dissension started, the king shut it down and decreed that there would be no more rebuilding. Nehemiah is now asking the king to reverse his own decision and change his foreign policy.
One of my professors once gave an exaggerated analogy: Imagine being Hitler’s right-hand man, walking into his chamber and saying, “I respect you, but could you lay off Poland and Austria for a while? Actually, I want you to change your policy on the whole extermination thing. I’d like you to let me rule those territories, build back the Jewish population so they can thrive, and I need you to go public with this so nobody stops us. Is that cool?”
That is essentially what Nehemiah is asking. “Can I go do this?” The king then asks for the plan.
Nehemiah 2:6 (NASB)
Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, ‘How long will your journey be, and when will you return?’ So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time.
The king wants to know: How long will you be gone? When will you return? Nehemiah doesn’t tell us the duration here, but chapter five verse 14 tells us he asked for twelve years. Imagine asking your boss for twelve years of leave! But Nehemiah asked because he knew what it would take. He didn’t sugarcoat it. He calculated how long it takes to rebuild a wall and an entire city, and he came up with twelve years.
Nehemiah 5:14 (NASB)
Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, [for] twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor’s food [allowance].
And here is the amazing thing about Nehemiah’s character: the king asked when he would return. Would you come back to captivity after twelve years of rebuilding your own city? Nehemiah 13:6 tells us that Nehemiah did exactly what he said he would do. He came back twelve years later. He let his “yes” be “yes.”
Nehemiah 13:6 (NASB)
But during all this [time] I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had gone to the king. After some time, however, I asked leave from the king,
Nehemiah also thought through the logistics of the journey. Susa and Jerusalem were about 350 to 400 miles apart. In between were several provinces with governors who did not like the Jewish people and did not want the city rebuilt. Nehemiah knew these men might try to capture or kill him. So, he asked for letters to the governors to ensure safe passage.
Nehemiah 2:7 (NASB)
And I said to the king, ’If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors [of the provinces] beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah,
Finally, he thought through the resources. He asked for a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, for timber. This was a private forest reserve with the best timber available, and only the king had access to it. Nehemiah wasn’t just asking for permission; he was asking the king to fund the project!
He needed timber for the gates, the wall, and the house he would live in. The wall alone was five miles long, covering 960 acres. This was an enormous project. Nehemiah was shooting for the moon, but he knew he had a big God.
Nehemiah 2:8 (NASB)
and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city and for the house to which I will go.’ And the king granted [them] to me because the good hand of my God [was] on me.
The Hand of God
Don’t miss the heart behind this. Nehemiah wasn’t looking for an “out” from Susa to exalt himself. He was crushed over the desolation of God’s house. He was tired of God’s fame being demoted by the surrounding nations. He wanted to see God’s people restored to their rightful place so that God’s name would be exalted.
For four months, he prayed and he planned. He didn’t just shrug his shoulders when the king asked for a plan. If he had, it would have been “one and done.” But because he had strategized, the king granted his request. Nehemiah notes the reason: “For the good hand of my God was upon me.”
Why was God’s hand upon him? We know from 2 Chronicles 16:9 that the eyes of the Lord move throughout the earth to strongly support those whose hearts are completely His.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB)
‘For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.’
Nehemiah’s heart was for God. He was strategic, he wasn’t lazy in his thinking, and he was faithful in his stewardship. But make no mistake—the hero of the story is not Nehemiah. He wasn’t a slick used car salesman with the right panache. Half the time, he was shaking in his boots! The hero is God. God wanted this to happen, and He used the prayers and planning of Nehemiah as the vessel.
Does a faithful prayer life exclude planning? No. They go hand in hand. It’s about having something stir in your heart, falling on your face in repentance, and then using the mind and creativity God gave you to flesh out the ideas.
Conclusion and Challenge
God can do anything. Proverbs 21 says the king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord, and He turns it wherever He wants.
Proverbs 21:1 (NASB)
The king’s heart is [like] channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.
I’ve heard stories recently of people going into the Middle East, into places where it is almost impossible to share your faith. I talked to two businessmen whose hearts were stirring for the people there. They wanted Jesus to be exalted. They were just two people, but through their corporation, they developed a strategic partnership that eventually got them to the heart of a king. Now they have opportunities to share their faith.
This is how God works. He puts a seed in someone’s heart, they start praying, they start planning, and next thing you know, organizations pop up, wells are dug in foreign countries, and inner-city ministries are started. It’s the people who not only pray but get down and plan who see the change.
So, I ask you again: What is your holy discontent? What is stirring in you so much that you can’t sleep?
Maybe it’s your marriage. Maybe you come from a long line of people who checked out, and you’re tired of the divorce rate in your family and our culture. You’re tired of seeing kids grow up confused. What are you going to do about it? Are you on your face in prayer? Are you thinking through how you can be the change agent?
Maybe it’s the city. Maybe you’re tired of seeing one half of the city plush and the other half broken. You see the poverty and the homeless on every corner, and it’s stirring a dream in you for reform.
Don’t be afraid to ask the big questions. Whatever your holy discontent is, let’s go to our faces in prayer and let’s plan. Let’s implement things so that this world can be turned around. Imagine the influence we could have as a Christian community if we planned through these things together.
Let’s pray for that.
Father, we thank You for the words of Nehemiah. It’s a systematic text, but we don’t want to miss the miracle behind it. In a scary place, it just took the right stir within a man—a holy discontent and a brokenness for sin. You led Nehemiah to pray and develop a plan, and then You answered. What unfolds next is nothing short of a miracle. I do not believe for one minute that what You did in Nehemiah’s day cannot happen today in our marriages, our friendships, our churches, and our city. Lord, You are searching right now for someone You can strongly support. May we be those people here at The Well Community Church. May we be Your children who yield ourselves to You in prayer and who strategically plan, so that Your blessing might follow. We lift this up for the sake of Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.