Crisis management (Nehemiah 4:7-14)

Crisis management

 

 

[Nehemiah 4:7-14]

 

I remember reading a column by Mr. Cheol Lee for the Korea Daily in America about the US economy.  He saw these cases of investment banks collapsing due to poor investments.  It is said that the cause of the problem is that the lump of investment banks has grown, fearlessly raised funds directly and even touched real estate investments, and then the subprime mortgage (non-prime mortgage loan) crisis occurred.  High returns always come with high risks, and even though executives knew this, they said they couldn't resist the temptation because the incoming profits were so great.  Then, one of his words came to mind: ‘Capitalism is driven by the pursuit of individual interests.  However, if you try to maximize profits, the risk management system does not work because you are blinded by greed’ (Lee).  I think there is a point in saying that the risk management system will not work if we are blinded by greed.  If a high return always comes with a high risk, the risk management system should be working well.  But in the end, greed blinds the eyes, so the risk management system, which should work well at a high level, does not work.  I agree with the statement that the US economy is struggling like this.

 

It seems that the US economy is really struggling.  If we watched the CNN Internet news today, it says that 8 out of 10 Americans are stressed out because of the bad economy.  Yesterday, on Monday, due to economic problems, a 45-year-old man, the head of a family, shot his mother-in-law, wife, and three sons through the barrel, and then committed suicide.  It is truly shocking.  As more and more people are under stress due to such a dark economy, there are also cases of suicide due to making extreme choices in the middle of life.  In such a dark economy, how should we navigate this economic crisis?  We need to learn how we got through economic crises in the past.  As an example, we can consider the economic crisis in the United States during President Franklin D. Roosevelt's inauguration on March 4, 1933.  At that time, an unprecedented economic crisis in the United States left 15 million people unemployed, and as financial institutions such as banks went bankrupt, extreme fear swept over the people.  At this time, President Roosevelt saw that the endless anxiety and defeatism brought on by fear were the very essence of the crisis, and saw that the recovery of ‘confidence’ was more urgent than any economic policy in overcoming the recession.  Therefore, President Roosevelt wanted to cut off the process in which a sense of crisis causes a crisis, and a crisis in turn amplifies the sense of crisis (Internet).

Even in our lives, there are times when life becomes dark due to crises.  And there are times when we experience another crisis due to a sense of crisis.  What could be the cause?  One of the reasons is because we are not good at crisis management.  All of us must have faced a crisis at least once in our past life.  And if we have not properly learned how to manage a crisis through that crisis, we cannot help but face extreme pain and difficulties because we do not know how to manage the upcoming crisis as well.  Therefore, we must learn crisis management through unexpected crises in our lives.  In particular, in Nehemiah 4:7-14, how did Nehemiah and the people of Judah overcome the four crises that came to Nehemiah and the people of Judah (the increasing number of enemies, their combined armed attacks, discouragement, and fear)?  I want to receive a lesson on crisis management that is given while thinking of three things.  In the meantime, I hope and pray that we can apply the lesson to our lives and overcome the current crisis as well as the upcoming crisis.

 

The first lesson in crisis management is to pray together.

 

Nehemiah prayed to God and dealt with the four crises that he could feel, the increasing number of enemies, the combined armed attack of these enemies, and the discouragement and fear of the people of Judah.  Look at Nehemiah 4:9 – “But we prayed to our God ….”  Nehemiah prayed to God in a situation where his enemies were surrounded on all sides, from the east, west, south, and north.  If we look at Exodus 14:3, the Bible says that the Israelites were “hemmed in by the desert.”  At that time, the Israelites saw their surroundings and became discouraged and complained to Moses.  However, Moses looked up and prayed to God (v. 15).  This is the first risk management lesson I and you should learn.

 

Pastor George Muller, who claims to have received 5,000 answered prayers, said this about prayer: ‘He who has not learned to fight life on his knees is still the one who does not know the ABCs of the Christian faith (Muller).  Do you and I really know the ABCs of Christian faith?  When faced with unexpected adversity and difficulties in life, are we fighting our sense of crisis, fear, anxiety, worry with our knees?  Are we coping with crises in our lives by crying out to God?  Like the Israelites, we must not be discouraged and complain about the land because we are trapped in the east, west, north, and south in front of the Red Sea.  Rather, like Moses, we must look upward even in such a crisis.  That is, we must look to God.  And we must ask the God of our salvation in faith.  Then we will experience God's salvation.   In particular, it is important for the church to pray together when the community encounters a crisis.  Of course, individual prayer is necessary.  But when the whole church gathers together with one heart and one mind and prays earnestly to God, we will experience God's saving grace through that crisis.  Even in the state of siege in the east, west, north, south, and north, we must experience God's work of salvation in our lives as well, who turned the Red Sea into dry land and allowed the Israelites to cross the Red Sea on foot.  Our God will open the way of salvation for us.  Like Paul and Silas who prayed and sang hymns (Acts 16), God will hear our prayers and give us the grace of salvation.  I hope and pray that we will be able to experience God's work of salvation by praying together to God no matter what crisis we face.

 

The second lesson in crisis management is to post a guard.

Nehemiah posted a guard when a crisis came for him and the people of Judah.  Look at Nehemiah 4:9 – “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”  Nehemiah then posted the guard to ward off the invaders.  Where did he post the guard and how?  Nehemiah posted the guard in prominent and vulnerable places on the wall.  Look at verse 13: “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.”  Because then the invaders would be able to see that the Jews were ready to fight.  The reason Nehemiah posted the guard along with all the tribes was because they knew how to stand firm together as a family and comfort each other.  The people of Judah not only repaired the wall near their house (3:28-30), but they stood guard with their families to protect their home and city.

 

Nehemiah prayed to God and did not forget his responsibility.  In other words, he diligently did what he had to do as a man of prayer.  In the midst of a crisis, Nehemiah not only prayed to God with the people of Judah, but also posted the guard on the walls of Jerusalem to block many enemies who were actually trying to invade.  Nehemiah posted the guard in prominent and vulnerable places along every tribe.  Likewise, we must set up the guard when facing a crisis.  In particular, we personally must set watch over our eyes, ears, and hearts.  Why should we post the guard in our eyes and ears?  It is because if we do not post the guard in our eyes when we are looking at a crisis situation, we will see the crisis situation with our physical eyes and tremble in fear.  Also, we must post the guard on our ears.  That way, we can block out all the news from a crisis situation.  As we block the news that discourages and despairs our hearts, we must hear God's still voice louder in the midst of the crisis.  In particular, we must post the guard on our heart, the source of life.   We must guard our heart well.  In particular, we must be wary of distrust that may arise in our hearts due to a crisis.  Also, we must guard against the crisis of confidence in our hearts.  Rather, in a crisis situation, we must fill our hearts with the assurance of salvation.  The word of God must be a guard in our hearts.  Therefore, we must not be guided by a crisis situation or our thoughts and emotions that react to that situation, but only be guided by God's word of promise.  Therefore, I hope and pray that we will experience the work of salvation of God who rescues us from the midst of crisis while enduring with faith.

 

The third lesson in crisis management is to trust God completely.

 

Nehemiah constantly challenged the people of Judah to fully trust in God and have confidence when he encountered a crisis due to the enemies while rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.  Look at Nehemiah 4:14 – “After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.’”  The important thing here is Nehemiah's faith, conviction, and confidence as a leader.  What would happen if the leader showed weak faith, uncertainty, and lack of confidence in front of the people of Judah who were discouraged and trembling in fear because of their enemies?  Nehemiah's heart was occupied by the great and awesome God (1:15; 4:14).  And he believed that God was strong enough to save the people of Judah in the midst of a crisis.  With this faith and confidence, Nehemiah constantly challenged the discouraged and fearful people of Judah to trust God completely.

 

I remember reading a book that said, ‘Unbelief magnifies problems, but faith makes the Lord appear bigger.’   I agree.  If we face a crisis and the crisis seems bigger than our Lord, we must keep in mind that this is unbelief.  With such unbelief, we can never overcome a crisis situation.  Like Nehemiah, we must have true faith.  Because of the faith that makes us look at the extremely great God, we must overcome the crises that come into our lives.  Even if a great crisis comes at home and at the church level, we must rather overcome it with faith in God.  While longing for, praying for, expecting, and waiting for God's saving grace with conviction and confidence, we must overcome the fear that arises within us, and the fear of the adversaries who push us into a crisis situation.  Hear what Moses praying said to the Israelites: “…  Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.  …  The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (Exod. 14:13-14).  Our God fights for us.  And the victory of war belongs to God.  We should not be afraid because that God is with us and is fighting our enemies.  Only by trusting God completely, we should not only overcome the crisis in our lives, but also use it as an opportunity to glorify God.  Victory!