Stewarding a Double Portion | Nehemiah + Esther
Lately, I’ve been dreaming quite a bit. And if you know me personally, you’re probably smiling because, yes — dreaming is something that happens often in my life. But recently it’s been in abundance, and I count it as a gift. Scripture reminds us that ‘God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night… He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction’ (Job 33:14–16). I believe it’s a holy thing when the Lord chooses to meet us in the quiet hours of sleep, whispering direction, encouragement, and revelation. Just a few days ago, I had a dream that stirred me deeply — the kind that lingers in your spirit long after you wake. Revelation has a way of doing that, unsettling us so that we’ll lean in closer to the Lord. As I prayed over it, He drew me into His Word, leading me straight to two unlikely but connected places: the book of Nehemiah and the book of Esther.
At first glance, Nehemiah and Esther hardly seem to belong in the same conversation. Nehemiah was a governor and builder. Esther was a queen and intercessor. One rallied people to raise stones in the open; the other consecrated herself in hidden chambers. Yet side by side, their stories reveal a picture of the double portion God calls His people to carry in this hour: the call to build and the call to consecrate.
Nehemiah: The Builder with a Sword and a Trowel
The book of Nehemiah opens in devastation: “The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). For a people freshly returned from exile, those fallen stones were not just rubble — they were a picture of lost identity, lost protection, and a covenant city left exposed.
Into that moment, God raised up Nehemiah. He wasn’t a prophet, priest, or king. He was a cupbearer — an ordinary servant in the Persian court. Yet with favor from King Artaxerxes, this unlikely leader was sent to restore what had been destroyed.
The task was anything but simple. At every step, opposition pressed in:
Mockery: “What are these feeble Jews doing? … Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish?” (Nehemiah 4:2).
Threats: Enemies conspired to bring violence against the builders (Nehemiah 4:7–8).
Discouragement: “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall” (Nehemiah 4:10).
Nehemiah’s answer was both practical and spiritual:
“Those who built on the wall… each one had his sword girded at his side as he built” (Nehemiah 4:17–18).
A sword in one hand, a trowel in the other. Their visible work of raising stones was upheld by invisible faith, prayer, and vigilance.
This is one half of the double portion: the call to build. To labor faithfully in the face of resistance, trusting that what God has asked us to construct — families, ministries, communities, legacies — will not crumble, because “the God of heaven Himself will prosper us” (Nehemiah 2:20).
Esther: The Intercessor for Such a Time as This
If Nehemiah’s call was public, Esther’s was hidden. Swept into the Persian palace, she entered a season of preparation that lasted a full year (Esther 2:12) — months of anointing, waiting, and consecration. Long before she stood in destiny, she was set apart in obscurity.
Her moment came when her people were marked for destruction under Haman’s decree. Mordecai’s words pressed her toward courage, but Esther knew she could not act without first bowing low before the Lord. Her answer was radical consecration:
“Go, gather all the Jews… and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).
It was her hidden obedience that unlocked heavenly favor. When she stood before the king, Scripture records:
“The king held out to Esther the golden scepter… Then the king said, ‘What do you wish, Queen Esther? What is your request? It shall be given to you — up to half the kingdom!’” (Esther 5:2–3).
Esther did not lay stones like Nehemiah, but she laid down her life in consecration. Her fasting, intercession, and obedience preserved an entire nation.
This is the other half of the double portion: the call to consecrate. To yield in hiddenness, to fast and seek the Lord, so that when the hour of testing comes, His favor rests on us and His purposes prevail.
Nehemiah and Esther Together: A Word for Our Generation
As I’ve prayed, I believe this is what the Lord is speaking over me — and over this generation. We are being called to carry both assignments. Not just to build, and not just to consecrate, but to hold them together.
To build like Nehemiah: with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, laboring in faith even when opposition rises.
To consecrate like Esther: fasting, praying, and laying our hearts low before the King so that His favor rests on what we carry.
If we only build, we risk building in our own strength. If we only consecrate, we hide what was meant to be established. But when both come together — when the wall and the fast, the sword and the scepter, the public and the private are carried side by side — God’s purposes break forth.
I believe the Lord is calling us to a double portion: to build what is broken and to consecrate what is hidden. To labor publicly and to fast privately. To steward families, ministries, and communities in such a way that what rises in this generation will not fall.
And the good news is this: the same God who strengthened Nehemiah’s hands and extended His golden scepter toward Esther is the God who strengthens us now. What He entrusts us to build, He Himself will sustain.
So let us arise and build. Let us fast and consecrate. Let us carry both halves of the double portion, knowing we are here — in this hour, in this generation — for such a time as this.
Reflection + Journaling Prompts
Nehemiah’s Call to Build:
What “walls” in my life or community is God asking me to rebuild? Where do I feel opposition or discouragement, and how can I pick up the “sword and trowel” again in faith?Esther’s Call to Consecrate:
Where might God be calling me into fasting, hidden preparation, or deeper obedience? What would it look like to say, “If I perish, I perish” in my own life?The Double Portion Together:
How can I hold building and consecration side by side in this season? What practices, rhythms, or prayers could help me walk out both faithfully?
