Throughout our faith journey, we will face opposition but we must continue to follow after God with courage and wisdom. The story of Nehemiah rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem, as described in Nehemiah Chapter 4, offers valuable insights on how we can navigate the hurdles we face while following God with courage and wisdom. Nehemiah’s experience demonstrates that even in the face of discouragement and adversity, it is possible to persevere and triumph.
But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews. 2 And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” 3 Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”
Nehemiah 4:1-3 NKJV
Here we see Sanballat and Tobiah, who were furious and mocking the Jews as they rebuilt the wall. This attack was filled with lies and discouragement. It’s important to note that discouragement often contains some elements of truth, but it tends to overshadow the greater truth – that God is with us and has promised to see us through. A lying, discouraging attack will often have some truth in it, but it will neglect the great truth. God is with us and has promised to see us through. Where faith believes God and His love and promises, discouragement looks for and believes the worst.
Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
Hebrews 10:38 NKJV
Sanballat and Tobiah had no authority to actually stop the work. All they could do was to discourage the Jews from continuing the work.
4 Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! 5 Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked You to anger before the builders.
Nehemiah 4:4-5 NKJV
When faced with discouragement, prayer was Nehemiah’s first response not his last resort. When faced with adversity, our first response should always be to seek God through prayer. It’s a reminder that prayer should not be our last resort, but our initial and ongoing strategy.
6 So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:6 NKJV
Satan wants to destroy our mind to work. He wants to make us feel defeated, passive, self-focused, discouraged. The immediate answer to the prayer did not change their enemies. The prayer was answered by the people of God doing the work. The answer to Nehemiah’s prayer was not an immediate change in their circumstances but the people of God taking action.
7 Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the [a]gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, 8 and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion.
Nehemiah 4:7-8 NKJV
Usually we become confused because we are distracted by the tricks of our enemy instead of focusing on God and His promises. When the enemies heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored, they conspired to attack and create confusion. Distractions and confusion are often the tools of the enemy. To counter this, we must maintain our focus on God and His promises. Our spiritual enemies thrive on our moments of weakness, so we should always be vigilant.
Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God, and because of them we set a watch against them day and night.
Nehemiah 4:9 NKJV
Prayer does not mean we do nothing. We must set a watch. Prayer does not replace our actions; prayer makes our actions effective for God’s work.
Then Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is failing, and there is so much rubbish that we are not able to build the wall.”
Nehemiah 4:10 NKJV
It isn’t enough to just begin well. We must persevere to end strong.
And our adversaries said, “They will neither know nor see anything, till we come into their midst and kill them and cause the work to cease.”
Nehemiah 4:11 NKJV
Our spiritual enemies know when we are discouraged, tired, angry, or proud in self-confidence. The only way to get them to stop serving God and doing His work was to kill them. For many believers, the devil does not have to kill them. Discouragement, compromise, money, relationships, frustration, or trouble get them to stop serving God.
13 Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. 14 And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Nehemiah 4:13-14 NKJV
These two verses illustrate the seriousness of the situation. Nehemiah positioned his people for battle, reminding them to remember the Lord, great and awesome, as they fought for their families and homes. We fight most effectively for the Lord when we understand what is at stake.
And it happened, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work.
Nehemiah 4:15 NKJV
Defending against the attack was not a victory. Getting on with the work was a victory. Victory is enduring the attack and continuing the progress and work for the Lord.
