English Devotion - Standing Up to The Enemy

October 12, 2021

Standing Up to The Enemy Nehemiah 2:11-20

Nehemiah decides to inspect the walls of Jerusalem that was smashed and destroyed. He was heavily burdened to see the walls being destroyed with no one to take care of it or take necessary actions to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem again.

 

The Lord laid a burden on Nehemiah to rebuild the wall again. Nehemiah mustered the courage and strength from the Lord and took the burden all by himself and steps into the mentioned area at night.

 

Neither officials nor the priests nor the Jews knew where he went at that night. The reason he did not tell the people was because, there were some people/some officials who were jealous of Nehemiah because they thought he was promoting the welfare of the Israelites (v10). Even though the king of Persia supported him, still some people were jealous of him. Since Nehemiah knew the burden of the Lord, he carefully examines the broken and the burned walls and gates with tears and broken heart. 

 

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After careful examination, Nehemiah brings up the discussions to rebuild the wall again for the Israelites.  It wouldn’t be easy for Nehemiah to approach the people to help him rebuild the wall, because not all people had the same burden as Nehemiah had.  But the burden of the Lord gave him strength and he point to them about the days of distress they are living in and also informed that the gracious hand of God was upon him (v18) to take the lead and help people to rebuild the wall again.

 

All the Israelite leaders and the people agreed to obey Nehemiah and joined hands to rebuild the wall.  The good work began, there were happiness and hope amidst the people of Israel, they encouraged one another through the strength of the Lord. 

 

Not, very sooner or longer the repair work began, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gesham mocked and ridiculed them, because they were jealous of the Israelites and was also worried that they will get to enjoy peace and security from the land. 

 

To their eyes, the people of Israel were considered as salves who were exiled. Israelites did not heed to the mocking or threating of these people, because they knew that the God of Israel has backed them up. 

 

They were strong, brave, bold, courageous, and replied back to their enemies that the “God of heaven will give them success” and also replied back that they have no share in Jerusalem nor they can dare to claim any historic right. 

 

 

 

What can we learn from this incident?

 

 

 

God would have given us all the burden to build our walls either for protection from our enemies, or to build the walls to extend our territory in the kingdom of God, or any other good work for the Lord.

 

The more we depend on and trust God for our work to be completed, the more we will face opposition, trials, and challenges that breaks our faith and hope in the Lord.  We should be aware that we are not always surrounded by good people all the time. We are surrounded by those people (even our own friends who eat with us) who are waiting to set traps for us. 

 

Nehemiah was very wise because he knew the mindset of his people, he did not let others know what he was going to do for the Lord until he finished examining and planning. 

 

What we are tracing here are the steps of recovery from ruin. There are three of them that we have covered so far:

 

First, a deep concern that leads us to prayer and sorrow; then, an opportunity for change to which we must make response; and then, the facing of the facts of our situation honestly and squarely. When we begin these steps, we have well begun the process of change.

 

Let us take these steps with confidence that God will enable us to rebuild our walls and restore our gates to His praise and glory and our grateful relief.

 

When we face ridicule and opposition, do we recognize their ultimate source? What steps can we take to recover from destructive habits or ruin in our lives?

 

Just like Nehemiah, we must be wise in what we are doing and how we handle our problem. We must be careful in identifying the burden of the Lord and be careful to listen to every word God says.

 

When we begin our good work, we would know that God will aid and provide everything, but, at the same time we should also know that we will face opposition and trails from those people who are jealous and who plot destruction on us.

 

- What to do when you face opposition:

 

1. Do not fear for the Lord will guide and protect us.

 

2. Be wise to speak and act

 

3. Inquire the Lord

 

4. Completely trust and surrender to God 

 

5. Fortify your walls with your prayers and word of God

 

Finally, the Lord will be our Rock and our Fortress and our Deliverer (2 Samuel 22:2) and HE will be our Tower of Strength against the enemy (Psalms 46:1).

 

Prayer:

 

Thank You, Father, that I can face the enemy with boldness and confidence, knowing that I am free, and he has no right or power over me. In Jesus Name. Amen.