Nehemiah 4:1-23
You want to serve the Lord. So you seek His guidance, you plan and get things in order and then it happens--opposition surfaces. Sometimes it's head on and very direct. Other times it's subtle. And those road blocks come in many forms. Through disgruntled people (like here in Nehemiah), or things like broken equipment or not enough help or inadequate finances. (The list goes on and on depending on the situation.) Well the temptation is to give up, to stop the work we're doing. But Nehemiah 4:1-23 shows us a better option, one of seeking God and His protection and pressing on even when the opposition seems huge and overwhelming.
So what did you notice from Nehemiah 4 about dealing with opposition? What might you do today, this week, this month to stay the course when it comes to doing work for the Lord? Tami W.
It's sad to say but when I run into opposition and rough spots turning to God is usually not my first action.
God of help and protection, life is not always safe and easy. Through you Spirit remind me constantly You are the source of my sucess. When times are tough let we always turn to you for protection and guidance. In the name of your Son, I pray. Amen.
Pressing on and turning to God to complete a task put before us, despite discouragement and opposition, requires strength of character from God. How we achieve this is by walking in the spirit. Walking in the spirit requires that we become active in our relationship with Christ, not passive. We must meditate on scripture continually, pray faithfully, and purposefully fill or minds with truth, rebuking any (and there will be many)lies that satan feeds us. If we can be faithful in this battle, it will soon become a habit and a part of our character to turn to God first and press on despite any circumstance. If God has given us the call to do something, we can believe that he will provide the means by which to accomplish it.
One thing I have learned in my years as a follower of Christ, is that there will be opposition. And I've also learned that sometimes the way we are taught to deal with our opposition is really like having on "kid-gloves". Don't be as direct, don't be as harsh sounding, etc... but here we see the following, which completely cracks me up - "4 tHear, O our God, for we are despised. uTurn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. 5 vDo not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders."
I love the honesty of this prayer, because it's REAL. None of this, "O Lord, bless my enemy for they are bugging me... but instead...turn back their taunt on their own heads! :) To which I say, Amen. One of my favorite prayers for those coming against me is, "Lord let them fall into their own pit", and often He does.
So, maybe it's not nice, but what I learned here is that it's okay to ask the Lord to do what you want done to your enemy. After all, the Lord did say that Vengeance is Mine, I will repay. I think it's time we took him at his word.
This passage reminds me of the opposition that we face today. There are many like Sanballat who have heard what the church wants to do who become angry and want to stop our work from taking place. In a time where so many people are looking for answers to the problems of this world too many are still ignoring the one true answer to all problems, Jesus Christ.
Nehemiah trusted God to lead, guide and protect him. He kept talking to God and let Him know what was going on with Sanballat and the others. Not that God did not know! This shows me than when we truly believe in God we should trust Him and in everything we do or say He sould be at the forefront. He wants us to succeed. The closer we draw to the LORD the closer He draws to us.
So for me to stay on course He has to be in everything I do. I have to be in touch with Him constantly because we are always going to have opposition and He knows this so He will guide me through the obstacles. I trust Him and will listen to what His Word says and I am confident that through my faith in Him and through His grace His work will be done not because I did it but because He led me through it all. In the end all the power and glory belongs to Him.
Nehemiah was a good leader first breaking up the men to stand guard and then having the workers always ready. I'd say in our lifes we need to keep the armour of Christ on and keep on working! God's Blessings to you!
The enemy is always prowling around seeking whom he can devour. Nehemiah 's first response is to turn to God and pray. He is in control and knows everything that is happening before it happens. Then Nehemiah asks God to turn the enemies mocking onto themselves and destroy them. Even though even the angels don't rebuke the devil and God doesn't desire any should parish we should pray they will have changed hearts and be humbled to do right.
Then Nehmiah prepared, made provision for protection and got to work. He encouraged his people to be strong and know God is with them. He trusted God. We need more leaders willing to stand for what is right and fight in faith.