If you’ve got little ones, you know this story well. Bluetooth connects in the car, and instead of pulling up directions, it blasts whatever song was playing last. “The Wiggles”, “Let It Go”, “Baby Shark”. For us it’s the Lightning McQueen soundtrack. Volume already cranked from wherever it left off. 5:45 AM, still half asleep, and KACHOW! ⚡️
This week, that same glitch actually did me a favor.
Wednesday morning, driving to soccer, Bluetooth connects — and instead of Lightning McQueen, it’s a conference talk I listened on Monday. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, telling the story of Nehemiah. Friday morning, same thing. Saturday morning, same thing again!
Three extra times that week, uninvited, the same message found me.
I’ve felt inspired by his story! The king’s cupbearer in Babylon, sent back with authority to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Opposition came fast. Other leaders asked to meet with him four separate times, always under the pretense of resolving things, but Nehemiah was not fooled. Elder Uchtdorf has been ringing Nehemiah’s response in my ears all week:
“I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.”
⚡️ F5 Fast Files - Short Summary
Every one of us has a great work waiting on us — the real question is whether you’ve found yours yet.
Nehemiah faced a sword at his hip. Our adversity today is quieter — and just as good at stopping the wall.
It took 52 days to rebuild an entire city wall. Undistracted focus still moves that fast.
📣 ANNOUNCING: The “Captain of My Soul” Fall Men’s Retreat — November 12–14 in St. George. We’re partnering with the men of For The Strength of Dads to bring this one to life. Your great work doesn’t have to be built alone! — Come spend 3 days with other men seeking, living, and supporting such high callings. We’ve pulled the venue and resources for 50 men these three days.
🧱 Two Questions
Those morning drives got me asking two questions a lot.
Do I have a great work? If so, what is it?
Am I actually doing it, or have I “come down”?
First off. YES! Every one of us has a great work waiting on us! Whatever yours is, I promise it’s there. It takes real work to find it, but ask and God will show you. It probably won’t have all the details mapped out, but it’ll be enough to get started. It might feel daunting, but you know what you felt and for some reason you know that’s the right target for you.
Maybe that’s a service, a mission, an education, a calling, a business, a newsletter? It could be stepping into a new role in your profession, community, or family and ultimately becoming the kind of man they need. The world is short on inspired men, acting in line with what they feel called to do.
🎯 Then -vs- Now
For Nehemiah, “coming down” would expose him to real physical harm! As death threats multiplied, these guys were working on the wall of Jerusalem with a hammer in hand and a sword on their hip!
Today the adversity we face is rarely threats of death, but distraction.
The hard part is that distractions don’t have to be evil to be effective. Whether you’re just scrolling social media or looking at porn, either way the wall doesn’t get built.
In business terms we call that opportunity cost. Real time, real chances, attention spent on things that called louder than the work actually in front of me.
Experience has also taught me that time isn’t just lost in that moment, but in the brain fog after too! The time it takes to find your way back to focus once you’ve let something pull you under. Today’s distractions easily lead to an entire afternoon, an entire day, gone.
🌊 What Becomes Possible
Nehemiah’s and his men rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. That’s crazy fast! It’s like he went into flow state at national scale. Not just focused labor — undistracted, uninterrupted, unified focus that they held under real pressure. A wall that should’ve taken months finished in less than 2 because the people refused to be distracted, Nehemiah refused to come down.
One more thing worth naming here: today, the ‘walls’ we’re called to build can rise even faster than Nehemiah’s! You can take an idea from nothing to a real product in less a day with the tools we’ve got now. Don’t use speed as an excuse to come down, saying “I can get to the thing quickly right after this show.” Instead, use it to fuel your imagination and vision and faith in what you can accomplish in real focused time!
So — what’s your great work?
Maybe it’s inside your own home. Maybe it’s your health, finally becoming who you were built to be. Maybe it’s a business only you can start. Whatever it is, FIND IT. And don’t come down for the things pretending to be urgent.
I’ll be honest — I have a lot of practice coming down. More than I’d like this newsletter to admit. But I’m grateful for a Savior who offers a hand back up every time, no matter how many times I’ve needed it.
My prayer for both of us this week: that we find the great work we’ve been given, and the discipline to stay on the wall.
Keep looking up,
Justin
F5 Brotherhood
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