06/14/2026
Here is today's devotional from Our Daily Bread:
Daily Devotional for Sunday, June 14, 2026
Serving Side by Side
“Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.
Nehemiah 2:18
Today's Scripture
Nehemiah 2:17-18; 3:6-12
Today's Insights
Cooperation is on display in Nehemiah 3 as people with various gifts, talents, and callings stacked their hands to accomplish one good work. Among them were priests (vv. 1, 22, 28) and Levites (v. 17); goldsmiths, perfumers, and merchants (vv. 8, 31-32); rulers (vv. 12-19), and others. The wall-building project, like other worthwhile community endeavors, required good leadership, and Nehemiah provided that. A survey of his qualities reveals that he was a man of prayer (1:4; 2:4), vision (2:5, 11-16), good communication skills (2:7-8, 17-18), and courage (vv. 19-20). Today, we can also serve others by working together with God's strength.
Today's Devotion
Serendipity Bookstore, a popular spot in Chelsea, Michigan, needed to expand. The owner found a building twice the size just a block away. She wanted to make the move quickly instead of closing the store for days and boxing up all the books. So she requested help from the community. More than three hundred people showed up! They stood shoulder to shoulder, forming a human conveyor belt, and passed the books from one person to the next, moving 9,100 books in just under two hours. The owner said, “[The bookstore] is really a part of the community, and [the people] have ownership.” They all enthusiastically worked side by side.
When Nehemiah, a Jew who was the trusted cupbearer to the Persian king, learned that the wall surrounding Jerusalem lay in shambles, he cried out for God’s guidance (Nehemiah 1:3-11). The Babylonians had destroyed the walls in 587 bc. After investigating, Nehemiah recruited help from the community. He said to the Jewish leaders, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins . . . . Come, let us rebuild the wall” (2:17). Chapter 3 describes how leaders and citizens alike willingly repaired the section of the wall that was right in front of each one. They worked side by side.
We too can impact our community by serving together under God’s direction and in His strength.
Reflect & Pray
What are your God-given abilities? How might He be calling you to work side by side with others?
Please open my eyes, dear God, to those around me so I might serve You in ways that help my community.
