I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.

Nehemiah 2:11-18

11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. 13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. 17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me.
Today’s title is “ Super Work In Not So Super-natural Way”

People of God believe in Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit guides us and leads us. So we humbly wait upon the guidance of the Spirit. We want to follow the Holy Spirit when it moves before us or signals to follow. When the Holy Spirit works in our life, supernatural miracles can follow such as great healings and other powerful manifestations of God’s glory. We have witnessed such supernatural work of the Spirit in the lives of patriarchs, prophets in the Old Testament as well as apostles in the New testament. But does the work of God or the Spirit have to be supernatural? The answer is clearly “No!”. God does a lot of works naturally rather than supernaturally. The Holy Spirit works more naturally than supernaturally too. The Holy Spirit more often gives us wisdom that leads us by supernatural wisdom. The Spirit helps us understand God’s will and act upon it rather than the Spirit does the will of God supernaturally on his own. God has done great work supernaturally in Nehemiah’s life. He helped Nehemiah earn the king’s favor. He protected Nehemiah during his perilous journey to Jerusalem. He will save him from ceaseless assault from the enemies. But the greater role of God and the Spirit in Nehemiah’s ministry was to provide him with wisdom, prudence, perseverance, and faith in natural ways. We see such examples in today’s passage. Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem with divine help. But after he came to Jerusalem, he carefully and prayerfully plan all his actions in detail and carried it out thoughtfully. He does not rush things on a hasty presumption that God is with him. He rarely does anything impromptu. He kept quiet about his grand vision of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem when he needed to. He boldly opens it up when it is right to do that. Did he do all these things by his own ideas without consulting God or asking the wisdom of the Spirit? I don’t think so. He didn’t take any single step without asking God first. I believe such collaboration of God and Nehemiah gives a very important lesson on how we work under God and with God. Trust God in everything you do. God is sovereign. He is free to do everything naturally or supernaturally. But the main “modus operandi” of God in our life is natural as we see in Nehemiah’s work of revival. Trust in God and ask God. He will give you wisdom, power, and strength. Then use the God-given wisdom, power, and strength to do the will of God. You will see that you are doing the great work in your ordinary daily life that you never expected to do. Are you ready to do the great work of God in your ordinary life?