Nehemiah's Faith Continued

Nehemiah didn't let intimidation, ridicule, and threats thwart his trust in God or his determination to carry on His calling on his life. Continuing from yesterday, on through the rebuilding of the wall, here are some more examples of Nehemiah's faith and grit to persevere.


Nehemiah 4:11-13
Israel's enemies didn't quit either. They kept coming back with increased pressure trying to put an end to the work of repairing Jerusalem's wall and gates. They planned an even stealthier attack and boasted "They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work."

But the people of Israel didn't live only in the city of Jerusalem. They also lived in the country surrounding the city and they heard the boasting. Nehemiah writes that these Jews "told us ten times."

Nehemiah responded with courage and grit. He stationed people at all the lowest places of the wall and at the gates (which did not yet have their doors rebuilt). He stationed people with swords, spears, and bows. When he saw the people's fear, he encouraged the people saying, "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome..." He also encouraged them to fight! Fight for their brothers, sons, daughters, wives and homes.

Fight. I can't really win a fight against my fear on my own. Only trusting God can conquer my fear. But I do need to be involved in the fight. I need to fight lies with the truth. The truth that God is trustworthy, that He is good, that He knows what He's doing, that He loves me more than I can imagine, and that He wants only the best for me. I need to “remember the Lord who is great and awesome...and fight!”

Israel's enemies heard that their plan had been frustrated and backed off. But Nehemiah persisted in being proactive, preparing for an attack and at the same time not letting anything stop the work.

“...then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work. And it came about from that day on, that half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the breastplates... Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon. As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built...”

Talk about courage and gritty determination! They even took their weapons with them when they fetched water. And they never changed their clothes. They were determined to watch for the enemy and continue the work.

Am I that determined to watch for the enemy? My real enemy? Not my imagined and misguided enemies. My real enemy, the one that robs me of peace and freedom, is the enemy of us all. He comes to steal and destroy (John 10:10) and he accomplishes that in me by sneaking fear in through the back door of my circumstances. Sometimes, I'm a victim of a stealthy attack just like Sanballot and Tobias had planned for the Jews. I don't even know I've been sucked in to fear and suddenly I'm functioning out of it. I need to be more attuned to enemy tactics and catch on sooner, taking it to God and moving forward in proactive trust in Him.

Good, ole Nehemiah. After all this legitimate fear and threat, he comes out with another casual comment in 4:21, “So we carried on the work.”  Ho hum. Yeh, so, we kept building.

Nehemiah 6:1-9
The enemies heard that the wall was finished and all that remained were the gates to rebuild. Time was running short for the enemy to keep Jerusalem vulnerable to their own advantage. They plotted together to kill Nehemiah. They invited him to come meet with them. (Yeh, right! Did they think he was stupid?) Nehemiah refused, stating the obvious, “Um, I'm pretty busy here. I can't come.” Four times they sent the “invitation” to him. The fifth time they accused him of planning to rebel against the king and insinuated blackmail was forthcoming. Nehemiah calmly sent his reply, simply stating they'd made it up and it's not true.

Then Nehemiah prays.

“For all of them were trying to frighten us thinking, 'They will become discouraged with the work and it will not be done.' But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”  (Neh. 6:9)

He prays for strength. Hidden within that verse is also a prayer for courage and strength of heart. And that brings us back to my second post about Nehemiah, But Now...

Faced with a monumental task--which he desired to do for the glory of God--Nehemiah experienced fear, challenges, ridicule, mocking, vulnerability, danger, threats, and death plots. In response he prayed and he kept working hard. He didn't quit and didn't falter. He didn't let difficulty, opposition, or danger thwart his progress. Nehemiah kept moving forward despite the enemy's intimidation, despite his own fear, and despite very real danger.

He didn't let fear stop him.

That's why Nehemiah is my hero.