‘The God of Heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build.’ Nehemiah 2:20 NKJV

With its walls torn down, Jerusalem was defenceless against her enemies. So, Nehemiah assembled a team to rebuild the walls. He had no training for this job. He wasn’t an architect or a builder. Jerusalem was far away, and he had never been there. Any way you look at it, he was unqualified for the job. That’s a common denominator with many of the people God has used in a remarkable way.

Noah was a farmer, called to build a boat in the desert. David was a shepherd, called to topple a Philistine champion. Nehemiah was a cupbearer, called to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. When it comes to doing God’s will, God-ordained passions are considerably more important than any human ability we can contribute. In fact, God often uses us at our point of greatest inability. That way He receives all the credit.

But understand this: when God gives you a ‘burden’, or a ‘passion’, or a ‘vision’, you have a choice to make. Nehemiah already had a good job. Being the king’s cupbearer was like being his right-hand man. He didn’t simply enjoy job security; he enjoyed the perks and privileges of his position. He would have been comfortable staying right where he was. But if he had chosen to do that, he would have missed God’s will, missed having a book named after him in the Bible, and you wouldn’t be reading about him right now.

Are you feeling unqualified? When God calls you, He equips you, resources you, guides you, and guarantees your success.

SoulFood: Num 32:25–33:56, Luke 9:1–17, Ps 134, Pro 4:5–13

The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright © 2026