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Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. Psalms 84:5, 6 (NIV)
One endless curiosity which has for long prodded my mind is this: why does it seem as though Christian believers are non-active, even passive, participants (really in Africa) in nation building? Is nation building rather not a task at which the people of God ought to exhibit knacks? If the Lord God, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, is the Creator, why would His sons be any less prolific?
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If indeed my Father is the Almighty Creator, then, I, His son, having inherited His spiritual genes, should be a co-creator! Which then leads to the related question, would a loving Father bless others more than His own children? The thought of it seems very implausible, to say the least. So why does there seem to exist a permanent disconnect between Christian believers in this clime and the task of nation building? Do we not pray, ‘Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’? Can we translate God’s perfect will to earth through acute and apathetic passivity? I think not!
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There is no denying of the fact that the Christian participation in nation building is topical. The perception and the fact of passivity ought, therefore, to be frontally addressed.
One verse in the Scriptures, which portrays explicitly how the creative imagination manifests in profundity after spiritual fortification, is Psalm 84:5, 6:
Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs. (NIV)
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Baca, according to a Study Bible commentaries, could mean either weeping or balsam tree. We should be interested in the aspect of weeping. Therefore, figuratively, “Valley of Baca” refers to a dry, hard place that causes reasonable discomfort. But as a creative man passes (constructively) through the place, a creative interface takes place between the spirit of man and the Spirit of God within the milieu of the revealed Word, and then, the empowered man is enabled to convert the Valley into a place of springs.
Several nations have had their geographic precincts situated in places comparable to the “Valley of Baca”, but men through creative enterprise turned them to places of springs, which held attraction for other settlers who arrived in droves in the pioneers wake. Converting void places to places of springs is the crux of nation building for the elect of God.
We, nevertheless, should quickly point out that different people are to build to varying degrees. Some would have to start from the very scratch while others either would refurbish dodgy constructions or rebuild antiquated superstructures. Yet others would be assigned to restorative roles. However, as we build, at whatever level, in whatever dimension and to whatever degree, the entire process should lead to the achievement of common interest and divine purpose.
In this sense, the life of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah is an abiding source of inspiration to the prospective nation-builder out of many other excellent examples. The work of Nehemiah led to the restoration of the glory of Jerusalem, a city and the gem of God’s chosen people.
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That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah, and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these Words that I sat down and wept, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:2-4
Let us itemize the disheartening news and other issues raised by Hanani and the men of Judah: (1) The remnants that were left of the capacity were in great affliction and reproach, (2) the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, and (3) the gates leading to the city of Jerusalem were burned down with fire. In short, everything that could possibly go wrong had gone completely wrong. The situation was appalling to say the least
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Naturally, Nehemiah despaired, and he cried out to the God of heaven. Now some lacking in insight might start to think: what was Nehemiah’s visceral concern with broken walls, burned gates and afflicted ‘rebels’? Well, plenty. Nehemiah grasped the deep significance of the series of events contained in the news brought to him by Hanani and company. He was also knowledgeable about the antecedents of his people and their proper place in the divine scheme of things.
Nehemiah knew that Jerusalem was a type (and shadow) of the Eternal City, which, as the New Jerusalem, would be the Capital of the soon-to-be-established Kingdom. Certainly, the gate of any city is a symbol to its strength and sovereignty. A city which has its gates destroyed is either derelict or conquered. The remnants in great affliction and reproach were the children of Israel, the people of God. Nehemiah knew that this state of affairs was definitely not the will of God, and he made a firm resolution. Led of the Spirit of God, Nehemiah discerned clear opportunity and he, thus, became a nation builder in the order of Moses, Joshua and Jesus Christ.
What he did was entirely a spiritual exercise, not a carnal one. No, he did not undertake a reconstruction project in the mould of that which was done in Europe at the end of both First and Second World Wars. His was different, because here was a man who was acutely conscious of signs and symbols, types and shadows, and times and seasons.
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Brothers and sisters, do you understand that sin assaulted the gates of righteousness in the original blue print of creation? Sister, do you see the cities of the earth being rebuilt in preparation for the Second Coming of our Christ? Young men, do you picture a perfect wall around the Eternal City into which the serpent can never slither to harm its inhabitants? Old men, do you see the gate of the City restored to its former glory?
Oh, to be sure the walls would be rebuilt. The walls must be RESTORED and the gates would definitely be REPAIRED. And the people would be rescued from diverse afflictions and the reproach of sin. The question is, are you ready to be a nation builder in the mould of Jesus Christ?
Nehemiah did not despair faced with appalling news about his homeland. He did not despair and become overcome with impotent rage. He did not wallow in helpless hand wringing on the sidelines. No. Amidst the sadness and sorrow, he had the presence of mind to assess that concrete action had to be taken with dispatch. Instructively, he realized he was in advantaged position to do personally something about the situation. With scant consideration to the size of the challenge, he stepped forward as a change agent!
Nehemiah had grit, I must say. Here was a cupbearer in servile captivity in a foreign king’s palace aspiring to rebuild a broken and battered city and redeem its afflicted people, just because he heard about the sorry situation back home! Two words stand out in bold relief: courage and conviction! Nehemiah needed tonnes of courage and conviction to confront and overcome Sanbalat the Horonite, Tobiah the Servant, the Amorite and Geshem the Arabian and their gang of opposition. He needed uncommon boldness to walk up to the king and ask for resources for his task.
The entire continent of Africa is in dire need of reformative and restorative rebuilding. The wall of hope is broken and crumbling as is the wall of faith. The walls of morals and high morale have long been breached. The gate of righteousness upon the land has become consumed by the conflagration of superstition, idolatry, fetishism, outright unbelief and spiritual compromise. The citizens of the land are held fast in dire hopelessness as unwitting captives of crushing poverty. They are marooned in the stranglehold of oppressive conspirators and rulers, exploitative elite, ravishing diseases, and death.
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Out of desperation, most Africans with futility strive to escape the embrace of spirit-crushing scarcity and sundry privations while struggling not to drown in the cesspool of corruption. Unfortunately, this striving with mistaken motive and in the wrong direction only produces aggravated impoverishment. The young die before maturity and the old are fully frustrated. All they see is rampant poverty of the vibrant human spirit. They are submerged in the ocean of deprivation and sundry afflictions. There is poverty of harnessed potential. There is poverty of creativity. There is poverty of spirituality. There is poverty of faith! And whenever the spirits lacks, frustrated potential is one sure aftermath.
Let me ask, again: Can we translate God’s perfect will to Africa through acute and apathetic passivity? Again, I think not!
When the LORD turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Psalms 126:1 (NKJV)
I know Africa will be free! Because upon Zion shall be deliverance! The sons of God shall also be revealed in Africa! And, as a believer, I am in leveraged position to contribute one precious something! Whenever, or wherever you sight a “Valley of Baca”, child of God, do not despair. Do not walk on by unconcernedly either, looking the other way in order to silence the prickle of conscience. Do not scout around for others to do the job. Put yourself forward first! Do not think you are helpless. You are neither an enslaved cupbearer nor in captive exile. Do not shirk responsibility heaven has bestowed upon you to turn every place of weeping to the place of springs, to refresh the people of God.
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