“The story of Nehemiah – leadership”;
Nehemiah was responsible for recording the reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem. Along with Ezra, he guided the religious and political restoration of the Jewish people after they were in captivity in Babylon. The story of Nehemiah showcases his unique leadership style as he deals with a wide range of people throughout the story.
Nehemiah’s vision and purpose was to do work for God’s Kingdom and restore His people. He did this by using his gifts and talents to help his people rebuild the temple. Nehemiah was very gifted in his ability to work towards compromise and negotiate through peaceful means. An example of this was when he negotiated with the Jews who were unhappy with Persian taxes during his time as governor. Nehemiah always was determined to complete his goals, and when he did, his people were renewed and encouraged by his efforts.
Nehemiah exhibited many Biblical qualities in his leadership. He valued the opinions and input of others. This is one of the reasons he was such a successful leader. Anyone who is in a position of power needs to listen to those under them. If they fail to do this, their people will be unhappy and will not feel valued. Nehemiah also exhibited patience. There were many hiccups in the rebuilding of the temple, but he put his full trust in God that the work would eventually be completed.
Nehemiah had unique strategies for organizing his people while rebuilding the temple. He delegated half of his people to work on building the wall, and the other half to keep watch for the Samaritans. This is an example of Nehemiah using his administrative skills to accomplish two tasks in one. Nehemiah primarily led by example. He gave up a position in the palace to do hard labor. His sacrifices are what made him such a good leader. Any good leader must be a servant before they can be successful in leading a large group of people. Nehemiah’s experience as a laborer is what prepared him for the project of building the wall.
Nehemiah dealt with a fair amount of conflict as he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He constantly faced the threat of attack from the Samaritans. Nehemiah dealt with conflict by asking God for wisdom. He did not make impulsive decisions, he thought out his actions. A key characteristic of a good leader is someone who does not make impulsive decisions when put under pressure. Leaders need to make decisions that will benefit those under them whenever possible.
Nehemiah’s relationship with God was very important to him. Both he and Ezra worked together to provide a good spiritual foundation for his people. Nehemiah was very humble before God and this is seen in his prayers throughout his story. His constant devotion to God was an example to his people. He always gave all the glory to God through all circumstances.
Nehemiah was a people person. Because of the position he was in, he was constantly negotiating with different groups of people. This gave him a great amount of influence on others. He used his position to share Biblical principles to all those he came into contact with. While Nehemiah was a very successful leader, he was also a great teacher.
Through all the hardships and challenges Nehemiah went through while rebuilding the city walls, he kept in mind the common goal he and his people had. The work that he did was his calling from God, and that is what helped him persevere through the hard times. Nehemiah wanted to unite the people through the work they were doing, and he accomplished this through his leadership.
The story of Nehemiah is a very valuable one for us to consider when we think about leadership and conflict, as well as the work we do from day to day. We need strong leaders in our world, whether it is in our local communities or at a national level. God calls us to be leaders so that we can instill biblical principles in those who work under us. Good leaders are able to motivate the people they work with to achieve a common goal. It is also important for us to know how to handle conflict within our lives. Conflict can often arise within workplaces and as Christians, we need to have an understanding of how to resolve it and prevent harm to people in the workplace.
Work is a gift from God. Even though sometimes we may not enjoy our work, we are called to treat all work as if we are working for the Lord, not for men. So in all things, we need to value the work that we do because it is a blessing. Having good leaders where we work makes the job easier because they have commons goals in mind. Nehemiah had great success as a leader because he trusted God for his needs and he taught his people to do the same.
Nehemiah is a testament to the importance of good leaders in our lives. His leading by examples had a great influence on his people. Whatever our position in life, we should all try to be a little more like Nehemiah when it comes to leadership.