We all love a good story. We especially love the story of the underdog, the triumph of the human spirit, and the satisfaction of overcoming odds stacked against the hero. Nehemiah is set up to tell just that story. However, the story doesn’t end at the moment of triumph and celebration. It keeps going one more chapter and that chapter is a remarkable collapse from the heights of the nation’s return from exile. Why not stop at the high point? Why keep telling the story? It’s because the story was never about Israel or Nehemiah. It’s a story about God, His faithfulness, and our need for something that is better than our failures.