Purpose Study Bible 360: Fifty-Two Days

Despite the opposition, the size of the task, and the limited resources, the people were able to finish rebuilding the wall in a little more than seven weeks:

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days (Nehemiah 6:15).

That's a testament to what people can do when they have a goal, good leadership, and God's help. The wall wasn't smaller because they had only 52 days, nor was the opposition less severe. They simply accomplished an extraordinary amount in the time they had. That same dynamic should be present in your life and work as well.

Peter wrote that with the Lord “a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). God isn't limited by our perspective on time, and we shouldn't underestimate what He can help us accomplish with the time we have. Paul also taught us what God can do according to the power “that is at work within us”:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

God's power didn't make Nehemiah and the people spectators. They still had to lift stones, organize workers, stand guard, solve problems, and show up every day. Yet God's power was at work through their efforts, enabling them to accomplish more than may have seemed possible when they began.

Where is God doing immeasurably more in and through you than you thought possible? Where have you been hesitant to start a project because you don't think you have enough time? What could happen if you started with the time you have and trusted God to help you accomplish more than you thought possible?

You are not alone in your creative purpose work. God is with you, and He will often join you to others who will work alongside you so that together you can create more than any of you could accomplish alone. Don't allow what seems like too little time to keep you from starting. Give God the time you have, do the work, and see what He can help you accomplish.