More Opposition But Work is Completed

Bible Passage:  Nehemiah 6 – 7:3

The enemies and attacks never stop, do they?

After their failures in the previous chapters, they started their nonsense once again.

First they tried to lure Nehemiah away from the city to a ‘neutral’ ground where most probably they would have killed him.  Then they tried to slander Nehemiah by claiming that Nehemiah was secretly building himself up to be a king.

When that failed, they pretended to have Nehemiah’s welfare and safety at heart and “warned” him of an assassination attempt.  They told him that he would be safe in the temple – but knowing that if Nehemiah had gone to the temple, they would have something that they could accuse Nehemiah of, and thereby undermining his work and authority.

And throughout all these happenings, there were many spies who tried to sway Nehemiah and report his actions to the enemies.

Whew!  I wonder how would I have reacted if I were in Nehemiah’s shoes.

Today, perhaps we too are faced with personal attacks because of our faith.  We are challenged because we refuse to compromise or act in the way that is mainstream but against our Godly principles.

And sometimes, due to the incessant attacks, ‘advice’, arguments – we find our resolve wavering and we may be misled or tempted to give way.

What are we to do?

Nehemiah’s actions gives us some idea of what we should do.

Know Our Mission

When the messengers tried time and time again to get Nehemiah to leave the city to meet them, Nehemiah gave this answer:

 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

~ Nehemiah 6:3

That is a great answer.

It seems to be a surly response to their invitation to meet.  Rude even,  But Nehemiah knew their ploys and refused to play along, even when pressured four times.

We may also experience continuous pressure to change our minds and go along with something that we know is wrong.  And we may have failed before simply because we have not given a proper refusal and finally give in to repeated pressure.

Your colleague:  “Come for the office Christmas party.”

You:  “Hmmm… its ok.  I have something on.”

Your colleague:  “Come on… everyone will be there.  It would not look good if you are missing”

You:  “Er… cannot don’t go?  I really have something that I must do”.

Your colleague:  “Come on… it’s during office hours….”

How many of you had that kind of struggle simply because you did not give a proper answer.

Nehemiah persists in his refusal.

Here is his reason: I am doing a great work, he says.

I have a great calling. God has committed a tremendous project to me, and if I leave, it will be threatened.

One of the most helpful things that we can do to resist temptation is to remember that God has called us to a great mission.

This mission is for all of us – young or old.

We are called to a tremendous work today.

We are to bring people to God.  We are to show them, in the way we live, how they can receive hope and deliverance from a world of sin and depravity. We must never lose sight of this great mission of ours that that God has called us to.

Nehemiah had a great work, and he was not going to forsake it for anything less. He was confronted with an offer that seemed to promise peace and support and yet was filled with danger, which he successfully avoided by refusing to leave his calling.

A Consistent Prayer Life

I really need to learn from Nehemiah.  This is one big area I need to work on in the new year.

Nehemiah’s first response to everything was pray. No matter what happened, he first prayed.

That’s the 1st thing you do when you’re slandered. 1st thing thing you do when you are afraid.  1st thing you do when you are up against it.  1st thing you do when you start the day.

Luke 18:1 says, “Jesus told his disciples that they should always pray and not give up.”

Circle “pray” and “not give up”.

Many a times we find that we are always doing one or the other.  We will either pray or we’ll give up.

When troubles come.  When the pressure is on – we will either pray or we will panic.

Just consider Nehemiah.  Because he always knew how to turn to God in prayer – whatever plans the enemies devised and tried to distract, destroy and defame him, he was unmoved.

The consistency of his prayer life helped him finish the work that God has for him.

May we remember our mission today and couple that with our consistent prayer life.