People of Valor Build Despite Risks

man laying bricks at sunset Photo by Saravut Vanset at Pexels

The Lord is my strength and my song;  he has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation  are in the tents of the righteous:  “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly, the right hand of the Lord exalts,  the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”

- Psalm 118:14-16 (ESV)

Elisabeth Elliot and her husband Jim moved to the jungles of South America to bring the Gospel to an unreached tribe. They were only just meeting the jungle warriors when Jim and his fellow missionaries were murdered by the very people they were trying to serve. In an instant, Elisabeth’s life was seemingly ruined.

Is it honorable to work for the benefit of others? Yes!

Is it honorable to do the same work at the cost of risking your family’s security? Elisabeth thought so.

After Jim’s death, Elisabeth, with their young daughter, moved into the tribal village of the people who killed her husband. She shared the Gospel and helped translate the Bible into their native language.

God called Elisabeth to build a corner of His kingdom out of the ruins of tragedy. It was risky. But she weighed the risk to her little family against the eternal benefit of building God’s kingdom, and, knowing God was with her, she bravely chose to build.

The Israelites might have wrestled with the same kind of decision when God called men from each tribe to repopulate Jerusalem.

After the Israelites had been captured and exiled, the city of Jerusalem was left in ruins.

Then, God called Ezra to rebuild the Temple. First, Ezra built the altar. Then, he & the returnees built the house of God.

But the house of God was meant to symbolize the place where God dwelt with his people. That symbolism fell flat while the Temple stood in an empty city.

So, God called Nehemiah to rebuild the wall around the city. With God’s help, and despite opposition, the Israelites finished the wall in 52 days. Its gates could be closed and guarded. People could build homes within the walls and sleep safely at night.

But they didn’t.

God’s holy city remained in ruins. To live there meant to start from scratch. It was easier to stay outside the city, where their farms produced food, and their homes were built. Who would move and risk their family’s security to rebuild the city of God?

Only a few men volunteered. So, God chose more from each tribe to move to Jerusalem. With God’s help, these were the people who would visit the Temple and renew the daily offerings. They would dwell with God. God, the Master Gardener, used these men to reseed the city.

God called them "valiant men" (Nehemiah 11:6) and "mighty men of valor" (11:8, 14). Just as he called warriors, including Gideon and David.   

But these men didn’t join God’s army and set off to conquer an enemy. Instead, they planted new fields, built new homes, and structured a city with limited resources—and did it all under the threat of enemy nations. (The wall was built for a reason!)

When I consider the bravery and honor, the valor that it takes to build a godly home within a culture set against God’s standard, I see that every Christian living today is a person of valor. Because, despite the cost:

- it is honorable to raise your children in the way of the Lord.
- it is brave to stand for your faith with integrity in the workplace.
- it is valiant to read and study your Bible, go to church on Sundays, and tithe regularly.

Elisabeth Elliot said, “There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” You may not be risking your life by building a godly home and a godly life, but you will certainly risk the death of self. It will cost you something.

God called the men who rebuilt his city "valiant." Friend, if you have been called by grace to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you have been called to honorable work. With His help, live it valiantly.