Nehemiah 4:7-9 NKJV
Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
When God calls you to do something, you will face opposition. The enemy will try to stop you and if he cannot do so, then he will try to discourage and frustrate you so that you give up.
God’s work must be done using God’s strength because that’s the only way it can be done. One great lesson we can learn from Nehemiah is that he was a man of prayer. Every step of the way, from the time he gets the report about the walls laying desolate until the time the walls were completed, we see him connect with God in prayer. When Sanballat and his crew try to instill fear and discourage the builders, Nehemiah goes to prayer.
In our moments of discouragement we must learn not to have a pity party and feel sorry for ourselves but rather run to God in prayer. God is available to hear our frustrations and fears, and he is ready and willing to give us courage in their place.
Like David, we must learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord. We are reminded that the battle is not ours, but the Lords.
May we remember that he who begun a good work in us is able to complete it. Just as the task before Nehemiah and the builders was huge, and the enemies did not relent in discouraging them, so it will be for you and me. Like Nehemiah we must pray and depend on God, and we must keep building having the faith that God has already given us the strength.
Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world. Amen.
Reflections.
What do you do when you are down and discouraged?
What does depending on God and not your strength mean to you?
Nehemiah prayed and he and the builders continued working even harder now with a sword in one hand to protect themselves. What lessons can you learn from that?
