Faith and Prudence in Balance

“Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.” (Ne 4:9 AV)

There is a balance between faith and prudence.  Setting a watch against the enemy is not a lack of faith.  Setting a watch against the enemy is prudence.  Nehemiah set watchers among the workers as the wall was in repair.  Sanballat and Tobiah made threats against Nehemiah and the remnant that if the wall was under repair, and the work did not cease, they would come by force to stop it.  Nehemiah did not completely ignore the threat, nor did he allow it to pre-occupy his thoughts.  He set a watch, prayed it unto the LORD, and continued the work.  This showed a lot of wisdom and leadership to a group of people who wanted to do a work for the LORD.

There is a fine line between obsessing and negligence.  Yet, the line is there.  We tend to do one or the other.  We either obsess over something to the point of seizure, or we throw caution to the wind and not worry about it at all.  There is a balance to be had here.  Recently, both my wife and I have had some wake-up moments regarding our health.  Tests revealed the possibility of serious conditions, but upon further tests and follow-up visits with doctors, it was determined that both of us were not in immediate danger of complicated health issues.  We could do one of two things.  We could obsess as though the doctors and tests are misleading and the statistical improbability of serious conditions were overstated, coming to the conclusion our health would deteriorate regardless of the likelihood it would not.  Or, we could throw caution to the wind a presume upon God’s grace, not seeking better life choices that would improve our health and drive the statistical probabilities even lower.  The balance is in between.

It is foolish to ignore a potential threat no matter how trite we might think it is.  But it is equally foolish to overthink that threat and treat it bigger than it actually is.  God is able to do above what we ask or think.  And that was certainly true in our situation.  But as for me, I need to cut back on all of my caffeine, eat a bit better, and get moving.  All of which I am doing.  In the end, my health is in the hands of the LORD.  He could call me home at any minute.  And I would gladly go.  In the meantime, I need to make my prayer and set a watch so that He can use me for His glory while I still have breath in my lungs.