Nehemiah: What to do when things get heavy.

Nehemiah: 4:7-8 Intensified Attacks

7 [d]But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs, Ammonites, and Ashdodites heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. 8 They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion. 9 But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.

The Jews had been working together in a spirit of unity repairing the wall of Jerusalem. They believed God was doing a work and put their heart into doing their part. They had endured the ridicule of enemies who spoke against them and God's plan. Steadily these enemies put more pressure on the workers in order to keep them from completing the wall. Completion would cause these enemies to lose power and show God's hand toward His people. When intimidation didn’t stop the work the ante was raised to threats of physical confrontation that could result in deaths and confusion. The Jews prayed and began to guard the city day and night.

Wow. Things sure heated up in Jerusalem. Sometimes that happens in our lives too. We start a the path that God has set before us trusting Him to help us do our best to honor Him. When obstacles come it can grow harder to remain steady to the course. The Jews prayed and set a guard.

Nehemiah 4:10

10 Then the people of Judah began to complain, “The workers are getting tired, and there is so much rubble to be moved. We will never be able to build the wall by ourselves.”

Sometimes feelings can lead us astray. The workers became tired and overwhelmed with the tricks of the enemy. There was a choice to be made. The task seemed way too big for them and discouragement and disappointment threatened to derail progress. What would they do? Sometimes we just want things to go smoothly without a hitch, but the real test is what we will do when the pressure comes. Nehemiah wisely prayed and remained steady and gave the workers a good example. Whether we are the lead or a worker on the line we can learn from this. Maybe we’ve fallen prey to the enemies tricks in the past but when we know the plan of God we can remain steady despite attacks. Brush off feelings of failure and lack of confidence and listen for the voice of the Lord. It may seem like a battle at present, but Jesus always has a plan for success when we listen to Him.