“Now when Sanballat and Tobiah and Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies heard that I had built the wall and that there was no breach left in it (although up to that time I had not set up the doors in the gates), Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner. In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an open letter in his hand. In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Geshem also says it, that you and the Jews intend to rebel; that is why you are building the wall. And according to these reports you wish to become their king. And you have also set up prophets to proclaim concerning you in Jerusalem, ‘There is a king in Judah.’ And now the king will hear of these reports. So now come and let us take counsel together.” Then I sent to him, saying, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.” But now, O God, strengthen my hands.” – Nehemiah 6:1-9 ESV
The world right now is full of “Geshems” (the Hebrew is Gashmu). Individuals whose names will be remembered for trying to mischaracterize the work of God’s people with the intent of stopping God’s purposes. It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book. They try to entice Christians into meetings and conversations for the sake of interrupting the work that they’ve been called to and to do them harm. But now is a time for good leadership and good leaders stay steady at the tasks that God has called them to. Like Nehemiah, good leaders ignore the Geshems of the world.
When we pray for God to make His name great throughout the nation because of the work that He is doing at the Gospel Rescue Mission in Grants Pass, boy does He deliver. It feels like every major and minor news outlet in the country has visited our town, walked the Mission property, interviewed staff and residents, Zoomed us, spoken by phone, all to tell a tale of what’s happening. It has really consumed a lot of time and energy, and to our frequent disappointment the story they end up telling is rarely different than whatever they would have said without meeting with us at all. “Urban campers are “victims”, Grants Pass citizens are harsh, and the Mission has draconian rules and consequently aren’t very Christian.” The name of the news agency may change but the reporters are nearly all “Geshem”.
Why would they do this? The answer for them is the same as it was for the enemies of Nehemiah. They don’t want to see the walls of God’s people rebuilt. And if we’re honest, maybe we’ve become fascinated with bridges for so long that we’ve forgotten the purpose and function of walls and foundations. Walls serve as boundaries, borders, protection, and definition. To build them Nehemiah required that his coworkers keep a trowel in one hand and their sword in their other because the attacks against them were real, and yet God gave them a task to do.
My staff and I are constantly looking for ways to share what God is doing at the Gospel Rescue Mission and to answer the never-ending question about why we have such a homeless problem in our nation. They ask the question, and we answer, but they don’t like it and rarely report what we say. We tell of the lives changed and the amazing power of God’s word worked out in practice by both believers and non-believers alike. We explain why it works and invite others to come and see, but in all the telling of stories and answering of questions nothing satisfies like doing the task that God has called us to.
God is at work in Grants Pass! We see it in the extraordinary blessings and crazy unique circumstances that happen all around us. In the last couple of years we’ve seen His hand in blessing our Pregnancy Care Center, with starting Rogue Christian Academy, and just this month with River Valley Community Church’s acquisition of a couple of the most beautiful buildings in Southern Oregon. On top of that the Mission has acquired a perfect piece of land to fulfill the vision of MissionView Village and are so excited to see an additional group of individuals able to leave homelessness for good! Many of you as God’s people, have taken part in helping in all of these great things and we are truly blessed by your support.
The Geshems of the world are all around us, telling stories and raging about those who are laboring to build the right things. Please pray for us and lend your voice of support for those who work for the advancement of Christ’s Kingdom right here in Grants Pass.
Joyfully In Christ, (Nehemiah 8:10)
Brian Bouteller
Executive Director