Nehemiah quietly took a moonlight ride to observe the condition of the walls of God’s city, Jerusalem.   Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me; I went out by night through the Valley Gate to the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate, and viewed the walls of Jerusalem which were broken down and its gates burned with fire. Neh 2:12 . The strength of God's place was broken down and some parts had become known as the Serpent Well and the Refuse Gate. That cannot be good!  Nehemiah saw the problems and returned home. In the morning he rallied the people to work on the wall. “Then I said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach."Neh 2:17

Sometimes it is easy to see the faults of the church and sometimes we have higher expectations of God’s people. Maybe people failed them or the Church wasn’t quite what they hoped. They see the Serpent Well or the Refuse Gate. Some people see the faults and share their disappointment and offence with others. They complain but do nothing to help, not even pray. They decide to draw from the Serpent Well and some consumers with unmet expectations may even leave God’s city through the Refuse gate.

But mature people, re-builders like Nehemiah say “I’ll never let problems be the reason I leave, but the reason I’m staying!  I will be part of the answer not part of the problem." He tells the others “Come let us build up Jerusalem that we are no longer a reproach.”  That is the response God wants. Grace and faith keep our hearts free of disappointment, offence, and betrayal.

Friend, sometimes God uses the weakness of the church to test our hearts and waits for us to be “bigger” than the rubbish and to tread on the Serpent.