Nehemiah 6:15-19

Nehemiah 6:15-19
English Standard Version (ESV)

  I finished a basement once.  It was a great undertaking, and I spent many hours down there banging away at various things, at some times frustrated (Rachel can attest to this) and other times making great progress.  In the end, it came out looking pretty good, and I was proud of the work I had done.  I often made the step of ensuring that others knew about the great basement I had built.
  Here, Nehemiah and the Israelites have finally finished reconstructing the wall.  Others are afraid, not because they think that Nehemiah and the others are smart and threatening, but because they recognize the power of God at work in them, and they oppose God and want to destroy all who follow him.  They are afraid because they see beyond Nehemiah to the true cause of his work.
  In our undertakings, let us endeavor to serve God with such faithfulness and joy that others see our work as an offering to God, and they understand our success occurs not because of our own efforts, but rather because God is at work in and through us, and whatever credit is out there belongs not to us, but to God.