52 Days to Build, One Step to Lose It All: Protecting Your Achievements

Hello, friend!

I had a long day today, and a thought crossed my mind to skip writing this week’s newsletter.

But I quickly rebuked myself.

We only have three more weeks in this series—what a mess it would be if I skipped now!

The funny thing is, I was already brainstorming ideas for the next newsletter set.

But I realized that if I gave in to my feelings today, the new newsletter would also suffer.

So, I glanced through Nehemiah, and a familiar name in Chapter 13 caught my eye. This chapter is titled Nehemiah’s Final Reforms.

Now, for those of you following this journey, you know Nehemiah was the governor of Jerusalem.

However, after rebuilding the walls in just 52 days, he had to return to his position as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes.

Because he received a leave of absence from the king to take on this project - read more here

Here's a reflective question:

If you were Nehemiah, and the last 2 months you had

Defeated all your opposition and enemies

And had built the city walls all in 52 weeks

You had become the Governor of Jerusalem

Would you return to King Artaxerxes palace as a cup bearer?

Would you honestly go back after such success?

I digress…

Hopefully next week i can share on Nehemiah's mindset.

The First Reform: Opposition Returns

When Nehemiah left, the opposition he had fought so hard against returned.

Tobiah—Nehemiah’s greatest opposer—had been given a room inside the temple of God to live.

If this is your first read check out who Tobiah was here

Imagine that! This man who had opposed every inch of progress Nehemiah made was now living inside the temple, desecrating it. The space set aside for holy things had been handed over to a known adversary.

And what was Tobiah’s goal here? Was he homeless? Was he struggling to find a place to stay? Was there no other place to live but inside the temple

Far from it.

His intention was clear—to desecrate the temple and undo all of Nehemiah’s hard work.

Kindle God’s wrath against the Israelites

Boom

They are back to captivity

Here’s the lesson

When you take your eyes off your project, even for a moment, the opposition creeps back in. It doesn’t matter how hard you’ve worked, how much you’ve accomplished, or how well you managed your team, donors and stakeholders—opposition never sleeps.

Sustainability isn’t just about maintaining success; it’s about guarding what you've built.

Imagine this: You return to a community five years after your project ended. Instead of seeing the positive impact you envisioned, you find that everything has deteriorated. There’s no trace that your project ever existed. And your opposition is thriving off the resources meant for your community. There is no sign your program was ever there.

Nehemiah’s response was swift and decisive. He threw out Tobiah’s belongings, purified the room, and restored it to its original purpose.

So, what can you do?

• Check in on your projects from the past two to three years. Has your opposition crept in? Have things fallen apart since your last visit?
• Act swiftly to kick out anything that undermines the work you've done. Restore your project to its intended purpose.

The Second Reform: Neglect of the Levites

The next thing Nehemiah found was that the Levites—those serving in the temple—had been neglected. They had no provisions and were forced to abandon their duties to find other ways to survive. This happened because Tobiah occupied the storage space meant for the temple's resources.

Was tobiah looting the temple items? I have no idea! But why did he choose the part of the temple meant for storing food.

For you, this could look like neglecting your project champions, opinion leaders—those key community members who are mobilising community members for your program.

But hew.... they have been over thrown and they have abandoned your project to go out and fend for themselves because the incentive you provided for them have been siphoned.

In your case, if these champions aren’t properly supported, they too will abandon your project, seeking other opportunities to survive.

Nehemiah's response was he rebuked them and removed the new persons in charge of the storerooms and put in trust worthy persons to take on the responsibility.

What’s the takeaway here?

• I have heard program managers say their hands are tied, It is the community head that is siphoning the funds? It is a key member within the community that is sabotaging the project What can i do? This is the way other program have done it I don't want to stick out my neck too much
• Lets find another way Act like Nehemiah – rebuke them, remove the persons in charge (you can't change the community head if his is your opposer), but change the person in charge of your program and find more person considered trustworthy to take responsibility.

The Third Reform: Sabbath Desecration

Nehemiah found that the people had begun working and trading on the Sabbath, a day meant for rest and worship. He saw that both locals and foreigners were profiting from this violation.

Israel since the time of Moses had laws to not defile the sabbath – but here were people working, packaging, and selling on sabbath. Even in the times of Moses, the pharisee didn’t even want you to left up an item on Sabbath – even Jesus was rebuked for making a lame man walk while carrying his mat on sabbath but now they were treading winepresses, packing graining, loading on donkeys and selling food.

In Nehemiah's words “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your ancestors do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity on us and on this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”

They are stirring God's wrath to drive them to captivity.

You know at this point i began to think

Was it that the people had forgotten all the captivity they faced,

What lead them to it,

They extent of suffering they faced there,

How they wailed and cried to God to save them,

How he has saved them, rebuilt their wall and they are now living within their city not as slaves

How are they quick to forget i wonder.

Now it wasn’t only Tobiah and some funny priest stealing or having the storeroom hostage

It was also the people themselves acting in defiance

What did Nehemiah do? He shut the city gates, stationed his men at the gates to prevent trade, and warned those attempting to bypass the new rules by camping outside. He even threatened to arrest them.

Here’s the lesson for us as program managers:

When the community or project beneficiaries begin to drift away from the project’s core values, address the enablers first. Nehemiah didn’t immediately confront the people. Instead, he tackled the merchants and blocked the gates—the sources that enabled the behavior.

Think about your own project. Are there external influences enabling behavior that goes against the program’s goals? Identify those enablers and deal with them directly.

The Fourth Reform: Language and Intermarriage

Lastly, Nehemiah was outraged to find that the children of the Israelites had forgotten their own language. They were speaking the languages of the neighboring nations. This wasn’t just a matter of communication—it was a matter of identity. Nehemiah knew that once they lost their language, they were on a path toward losing their culture and, ultimately, their faith.

Nehemiah in this occasion rebuked, cursed, fought, even pulled peoples hair,

made people take an oath not to give their daughters in married or take other countries daughters in marriage

Why

Because their children were speaking the languages of other people but do not know how to speak the language of Judah.

Did you think he was making a fuss about a slight matter

How is it Nehemiah's business who peoples children married to or who they didn’t get married to

Or what language people children spoke

Lets tackle only the marriage aspect here because the language bit a whole series on its own

On the marriage bit –

Nehemiah gave an answer –

"Solomon the wisest man who lived in his times, failed from grace simply because of who he married" –

if you attend a bible believing church and you have a teacher for a preacher i am sure he has probably done a detailed exegesis on this topic – so i am not sharing anything on marriage

But here is a key thing to point out - in Nehemiah's word –

“Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?”

They were on a trajectory to captivity again

Guess who was named here Sanballat {check out this letter here if you missed it]

I once read a piece that Nehemiah here displaced rascality by fighting the people he sought to protect- share your thoughts with me on this

To prevent this, Nehemiah took drastic action. He rebuked the people, fought with them, and made them swear an oath to uphold their identity and not marry into foreign nations.

The lesson here?

When people start forgetting the core values of your project, it’s not time to stay silent.

Nehemiah acted boldly to protect what mattered most.

In your projects, if you see your team or community members drifting away from the vision, take action. You may need to remind them of the vision, reestablish your agreements, and even set stricter guidelines to protect the program’s integrity.

Dear Program Manager,

Nehemiah’s leadership wasn’t just about building walls. It was about preserving the vision, fighting opposition, and ensuring that the people stayed on course even when he wasn’t there.

Take a moment to reflect: What areas of your project need revisiting? Have you allowed opposition to slip in? Are your champions still supported? Are there enablers undermining your efforts?

Remember, leadership doesn’t end when the project does. Nehemiah’s example shows us that sustaining success requires vigilance and decisive action.

Until next time,

Chioma