Text: Nehemiah 3
Memory verse:
“And it happened, when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.”
‭‭(Nehemiah‬ ‭6‬:‭16‬)

I once read a story about three fishes which lived in a pond. One was named “Plan ahead”, another was “Think fast” and the third was called “Wait and see”. One day they heard a fisherman say he would be going to cast his net in their pond the next day. “Plan ahead” said,” I am swimming down the river tonight”. “Think fast” said, “I am sure I will come up with a plan”. “Wait and See” lazily said,” I just can’t think about it now”.
When the fisherman cast his nets, “Plan ahead” was able to escape from his nets. But “Think fast” and “Wait and see” were caught by the fisherman. “Think fast” quickly rolled his belly up and pretended to be dead. “Oh, this fish is not good!” said the fisherman and threw it safely back into the water. however, “Wait and see” ended up in the fish market!
Through strategic planning, Nehemiah completed the rebuilding of the massive wall within 52 days. “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days.” ‭‭(Neh 6‬:‭15).
He did a self-assessment of the broken walls and shared the vision of rebuilding with the Jewish survivors in the land. He developed a detailed and strategic plan before venturing to rebuild the walls. Nehemiah 3 details how the walls were built and the organization shows that they weren’t done impulsively. He divided the walls into 41 sections of different sizes according to the number and wealth of those recruited for the task. He developed effective teams that could address the needed repairs. Nehemiah provided instruction and training for each of the 41 sectional teams. He ordered timbers from Lebanon for the beams of the gate structures. Everything was on site before rebuilding began.
“Strategic planning is the key to warfare ..” (Prov 24:6 MSG).
Friends, don’t be impulsive nor adopt the “wait and see” approach but plan, think ahead and be strategic in your plans and your success will amaze your adversaries.

Prayer points
1. Father, please, deliver me from impulsive lifestyle and help me to plan and think ahead in Jesus name.
2. Father, I receive your wisdom for goal setting and strategic planning in Jesus name.

Today’s declarations
1. I am not impulsive for I assess before I address and I plan before I execute.
2. I don’t see planning as a waste of time but a gain of time.

Contact: pastor@thf.org.ng