written by Daniel Turner
Nehemiah 6:1-9
When Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies heard that I had rebuilt the wall and no breach remained in it (even though up to that time I had not positioned doors in the gates), 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me saying, “Come on!
Let’s set up a time to meet together at Kephirim in the plain of Ono.” Now they intended to do me harm. 3 So I sent messengers to them saying, “I am engaged in an important work, and I am unable to come down. Why should the work come to a halt when I leave it to come down to you?” 4 They contacted me four times in this way, and I responded the same way each time. 5 The fifth time that Sanballat sent his assistant to me in this way, he had an open letter in his hand. 6 Written in it were the following words: “Among the nations it is rumored (and Geshem has substantiated this) that you and the Jews have intentions of revolting, and for this reason you are building the wall. Furthermore, according to these rumors you are going to become their king. 7 You have also established prophets to announce in Jerusalem on your behalf, ‘We have a king in Judah!’ Now the king is going to hear about these rumors. So come on! Let’s talk about this.”8 I sent word back to him, “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. All of this is a figment of your imagination.” 9 All of them were wanting to scare us, supposing, “Their hands will grow slack from the work, and it won’t get done.” So now, strengthen my hands!
We read here of Nehemiah’s enemies and how they worked against him to try and scare him into not completing his work. They wrote threatening letters and even sent a spy to try and talk Nehemiah into going into hiding. Notice what Nehemiah did… again Nehemiah asked God to give him strength. He prayed and relied on the Almighty God in whom he had unwavering faith.
Our enemy is Satan and he has so many tools to use against us. We must first recognize these tools. It could be laziness, doubt, people telling you the project is too difficult or that the people we are working for are undeserving. It could be a disagreement between you and a brother on how to do a project. One of Satan’s favorite weapons is divisiveness. Once we realize that Satan is working against us we can call on God in faith and ask for strength and God will give it to us. Just as he did for Nehemiah.
During My Jerusalem, we all have a common goal. Let’s pray together, work together, and love together with faith that our Almighty God will give us strength and “unwavering faith”!
