Rise Up and Fight Through It

We have reached week four of our journey with Nehemiah.  A man who is not a pastor or a priest.  He is not a bishop or a prophet.  He is a man who was dedicated to the call of God on his life.  I do not know about you, but every sermon speaks to a tender place in my heart.  They challenge me to do better and be better.  You already know that Sunday’s sermon was no exception to this trend.

Nehemiah 4 lands us in the middle of this reconstruction of the walls.  We have moved beyond prayer to action.  Each family is tending to their section.  They are hard at work.  Although much of the wall lies in ruins, the walls are beginning to take shape.  They have made it about halfway through construction.  And wouldn’t you know it?  Sanballat, their enemy, can see their progress.  Initially, Sanballat makes fun of them.  After all, they are using scorched stones to rebuild.  Things that are typically cast away.  I have so much in common with those stones.  Messed up and needing to be cast aside, but God sees purpose for me.  He picks me up and uses me. 

When the enemy sees God’s intention to use us despite our condition, he moves from making fun of us to making moves against us.  Much like Nehemiah’s enemies.  The progress of the builders become a non-laughing matter to them.  They get together and devise a plan to attack Jerusalem and cause confusion.  They want the construction of the wall to be stopped.  They want Jerusalem to remain in ruins.  You do know that Satan wants us to remain in ruins, right?  It is no coincidence that I can eat a healthy diet for two days and then want to dive into a bag of cookies.  It is not happenstance that all hell breaks loose in families after things began to move in a positive direction.  But, we do not have to take these attacks lying down.

Nehemiah, the lay person, reminds the builders of the source of their strength.  They have grown discouraged.  Remember, this wall is only halfway completed. Yes, they have made progress but looking around at the remaining rubble was discouraging.  They had so much farther to go until they were finished.  Nehemiah equips members of the families with swords, spears, and bows.  He charges them to have faith to continue building and gives them tools to fight in case the enemy descends upon them.  He lets them know that their security and strength does not lie in the state of the wall.  Their security and strength reside within the Lord.  The enemies got word that Jerusalem was prepared for attack, and God brought their plot to nothing.  The families of Jerusalem continued to work on building the wall.

We have to be prepared to fight.  As long as we are working, Satan is not going to be satisfied.  He does not want to see us healthy and whole.  He does not want us to be assured and confident.  His plots can be brought to nothing if we arm ourselves.  We need to read God’s word for ourselves.  When situations are challenging, we can quote scripture to help us fight through our disappointment and discouragement.  We also need to build communities around us that share our faith.  It gets hard to build and watch your back at the same time.  Community allows us to work while knowing that we are surrounded by people that will step in at any moment to stop the enemies attack.

Building is hard work but so necessary for our survival.  We will face seasons of discouragement, but we have the choice to let them only be seasons.  We have to be willing to fight through and complete our mission.  Now, stand guard for me while I continue to build.  #wepreach

Questions to consider:

• Name three character strengths that you possess.
• Name three character weaknesses that you possess.
• What spiritual disciplines do you currently use to mature areas of weakness?
• Describe your community (family, friends, etc.). Do they enable your weakness or encourage you to work to improve?