Nehemiah was stirred by a the vision of Jerusalem, in ruins. Being moved to do something, he marshaled the people of God to rebuild a city left in rubble by the Babylonians. Nehemiah had a burden. A burden is necessary to be used by God. Someone with a burden makes more of a difference than a person with talent. Nehemiah accomplished much in a short time. He organized people and rebuilt the walls of the city in only 52 days. There was much that came against him in the process, but Nehemiah did not let that distract him from his mission. Our text is from the end of the rebuilding. After six long weeks of work, the enemy came once again. Nothing is finished without opposition. Often this opposition comes when the task is almost done. The greatest struggle comes right before the victory. It is here that Nehemiah asks two important questions that speak to finishing and finishing strong. First he asks why should we stop our good work to be distracted by the enemy. Nehemiah then asks in verse 11, why should I run? Nehemiah faced descent, doubt and weariness in his own people. He faced enemies who masqueraded as friends. These "friends" tried to distract him right before he finished. Nehemiah lived by the code don't quit until you are finished. Nehemiah's questions help us to stay focused. He said "I am doing a great work" The enemy tried to draw him away, but Nehemiah would not be distracted. The enemy will try to distract us and cause us to focus our energy on things that do not matter. We must not be so caught up on this world that we lose focus of the things that really matter. In the latter part of our reading, the enemy tries to intimidate and scare Nehemiah from his task. The world hates what we are doing. They do not want us to succeed. Like Nehemiah, the enemy is trying to frighten us from completing our work. Nehemiah's response was “why should I be afraid.” God has something for us to do, and we cannot stop until we finish. We must stay focused and faithful. We must finish what we started.