In Nehemiah 3 we learned that the work of the Lord is not solo work. The vision God has given us is not ours alone. It will take the help of like minded people to get the "good work" done. Our diligence today can have everlasting effects tomorrow.
Nehemiah 4 Facing the Opposition
Nehemiah faced opposition right from the get go. I believe that he would have had even more trouble if he hadn't had the foresight to ask the king for the two letters (you can read more about that here...Neh 2:7-9).
Sanballat and Tobiah, remember them? Well, their back. So the mockery and ridicule continues. They hurled insults at the Jews calling them feeble, weak. At one point Tobiah even says that the wall they were building would not hold up. It would break down even if a fox climbed onto it. So what was our good man Nehemiah going to do this time? Pray of course. Nehemiah's first response was to pray. Then he went on building. Let's follow Nehemiah's example. Take it to God and get back to work (Pastor Scott Hunter). Wow! I admire Nehemiah so much, help me Lord to reach this point of maturity in You, cuz that's not what I would've done! (just saying).
When we are doing the "good work" for the Lord, everyone is not going to support us but the right people will. We need to trust God to handle our Sanballat's and Tobiah's. After Nehemiah prayed, the people worked more fervently than ever. Nehemiah was their constant reminder of the goodness of God.
The more work they did, the more opposition they faced. The more work they did, the angrier Sanballat and Tobiah became. They plotted to kill Nehemiah and the Jews. Again, Nehemiah prayed. Then he stationed workers with weapons all around the wall. So they essentially worked with one hand and held a weapon in the other! Our "weapon" against the enemy is the Word of God. We continue to do God's work with our "weapon" in hand.
Therefore, we give due diligence to His Word. It's just like taking an exam. If we have not studied the required material, chances are, we are not prepared. When we are not prepared, we have not given ourselves the opportunity to achieve the desirable outcome. The Word of God prepares us and gives us the opportunity to respond rightly in the face of opposition.
Regardless of what the Lord is asking us to do in obedience, we must have a response to the opposition. Because when we step out in His name, the attacks will come (SRT). Let's let no one put an end to the work we are doing for His Kingdom. In spite of the opposition the work must go on.
Lord, help us to hold tight to your Word. Let it penetrate our hearts as we turn our face towards you. We need your help to remain faithful to reading your Word daily. In Jesus name, Amen.
*image from praying.kansasbob.com
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