IF YOU BUILD IT, BE PREPARED TO DEFEND IT.

And when our enemies heard that their plot was known to us and that God had frustrated their purpose, we all returned to the wall, everyone to his work. And from time forth, half of my servants worked at the task, and the other half held the spears, shields, bows and coats of mail; and the leaders stood behind all the house of Judah. Those who built the wall and those who bore burdens loaded themselves so that everyone worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other hand. – Nehemiah 4:15-17

I simply LOVE the book of Nehemiah! What a powerful message for the present day believer. Here we have the story of Nehemiah who burned with a desire to rebuild the city of God’s people. He prayed to God, waited for Him to move on his behalf with the King and when the time came, God orchestrated favor for Nehemiah and the people to rebuild the city and its walls. But the story doesn’t stop there.

We have Sanballat, Tobiah and “company” who became enraged when they saw the progress that Nehemiah and the people of Israel were making. How many of you know that when God positions, prepares and releases you to operate in your purpose, there will always be those who desire to oppose you? Sanballat, Tobiah and “company” did all that they could to frustrate and obstruct the people’s progress. So what did they do first? They ridiculed the people.

You’ve heard it said “stick and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That’s a lie. Words do hurt. They cut deeply and leave us wounded and hemorrhaging. The enemy will use words of deception and fear tactics to ruffle our feathers—to throw us off track. Don’t let it. When Tobiah was trying to scare Nehemiah into abandoning his God-directed task, Nehemiah responded by being steadfast. He refused to succumb to fear. Why? Because he understood that giving into fear meant, he’d never possess the fullness of God’s promises in his life. But more importantly, he prayed against that fear. For every scare tactic, lie and deceptive practice of the enemy, Nehemiah prayed and invited God to be Sovereign—to lead the way—and He did!

When problems present themselves in your life, don’t succumb to the scare tactics of the enemy. Your adversary is hoping you’ll cower in the wake of his deceptive practices and intimidating assaults. Don’t run from your problems, ask God to lead the way through them. The same way God fought for Nehemiah by confusing the enemy and turning their own plots against them, is the same way God can fight for you. God is the same God, yesterday, today and forever.

The people built with one hand and carried a sword in the other. Perhaps their sword looked similar to the ones in the Sikh faith with a double-edged blade. They came prepared to build and prepared to fight.

©2010-2013 Minister Claretta Taylor Pam, Global Ecumenical Ministries Inc. and Universal Life Church Monastery of Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved