Dealing With the Enemy

Dealing With the Enemy Lessons From Nehemiah

 

 

Nehemiah 6: 15-16 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

 

God has called us all for a great work beloved. One's calling may be different from another's; but of no less importance. The enemy, having lost the battle for your soul, now seeks to make your work impotent for the King and His kingdom. He will send many obstacles your way but we must hold fast to the teachings in the Bible and remain true to the project God has called us to.

 

So it was for the Prophet Nehemiah. He lived during toward the end of the period of exile for the Israelites. Remember that because King Solomon had drifted from God to worship the foreign gods of his foreign wives, the Lord had decreed that the kingdom would be split. The ten tribes of Israel were scattered and the remaining remnant of Judah eventually carried off into captivity in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. This was to fulfill the promises of God as far back as Deuteronomy where God had warned Israel about not following His commands:

 

The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you. Deuteronomy 28:36-37

 

After decades in captivity, Nehemiah finds himself as the Cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I. He hears the report of those who survived the exile back in Jerusalem and how the walls and gates had been completely destroyed. The project is now being birthed in his spirit. Nehemiah shows us the first thing we need to do whenever we are considering a project for the Lord; fast and pray:

 

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1: 4

 

His prayer included a heartfelt confession of his sins, as well as those of his forefathers. In his prayers he reminds God of His promises to His people. These are good models for us to follow as well. Too often our prayers can become rote or monotonous. Too often they can become stale or a "wish list." Nehemiah fasted and wept and sought the Lord before he would even dare approach King Artaxerxes about the project God was birthing in his spirit. We need to be just as reverent in how we approach our work for God as well today. It should not be haphazard in nature but a carefully thought out and prayed over work.