Today’s Reading, Nehemiah 4-6
Focal Scripture: Nehemiah 4:7 “When Sanballat, Tobiah, and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the repair to the walls of Jerusalem was progressing and that the gaps were being closed, they became furious.”
When you are following the leading of the Lord it is very exciting. You have a passion for what he has called you to do and you have a plan to get it done. Then you begin to tell others about this plan and you find that they have been waiting on someone to take up the mantle of leadership. You have excitement and passion all around. Unfortunately, you will also have people who won’t believe in the vision and desire to see it fail. The worst part is that it often comes from people you don’t expect.
In today’s reading we see this happen to Nehemiah. He has a desire to build the wall in Jerusalem. God is granting him success and the materials to get it accomplished. He is given letters and permission to go about his journey. The people of Israel are excited and their strength returns. However, there is a group that mocks him and hopes he fails. Later we learn that they tried to kill him and make him break Jewish law to embarrass him. Thankfully, Nehemiah was focused on God and the mission.
So what does this mean for us today as believers? It means that when you are following God not everyone is going to be happy about your journey. It means that people will make fun of you, talk about you and try to stop you from being obedient. They will even try to ruin your reputation and make others believe things that are not true about you as a person and your mission.
The challenge we have as believers is to focus on God more than our circumstances. If you are truly being obedient and following God nothing will stop the work from being accomplished. It doesn’t mean you won’t have difficulty but it does mean you will learn and become more dependent on God. Just like Nehemiah was attacked by these people he trusted God.
When we are on mission for God we need to expect opposition from others even those who claim to be on your side. We need to rosy for them and pursue God more than our feeling and our emotions. We must be singularly focused on God and our task. When we are we can expect God to protect us and provide the resources to be successful.
So what is God asking you to do today? I encourage you to go do it and embrace the opposition. Have a faith like Nehemiah. Build the wall even in the midst of others trying to stop you from being obedient.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Nehemiah 7
