Anything you do for God might be met with opposition. We shouldn’t underestimate that. We shouldn’t underestimate the degree or manner of that opposition either. Satan doesn’t like it when we step out to do work for our God so he will usually do his best to impede the work, create discord among the workers or just plain attack it from any angle he can. Please don’t think that any of that means that we should stay in our churches or homes behind closed doors doing nothing for God because we should also know that our God is always the more victor in the battle.

Nehemiah did what he always did. At the first hint of trouble, some mild jeering and mickey taking, his response was to pray (see v.4-5). And the work continued. Then the trouble began to escalate, and the troublemakers began to stir up violence. Again, Nehemiah prayed (v.9) and he responded with some appropriate measures but putting some defences in place while the workers continued. He could see where the project was going, and he needed to keep people safe while they made the city secure again.

When you’re doing physical work, it’s tiring. You have to learn to pace yourself, to eat well, keep hydrated and to get plenty of rest. When you’re engaged in a spiritual battle at the same time you should expect your energy and your resources to be even more stretched. You will also be stretching your spiritual senses as well as your physical being. When that happens, we should be prepared to reposition ourselves and reorder our resources in order to look after ourselves and keep safe. Nehemiah did exactly that (see v.13-15) and then he set up a system where they could deal with opposition collectively when trouble arose (see v.19-23). So, when you’re working hard and you’re sensing a spiritual battle going on around you reposition yourself, join with others in prayer and support and press on because the Lord your God will always be with you!

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Question:

Can you see places in your life where you’re feeling under attack, or can you see that happening in the people around you? If you can, how are you managing your physical and spiritual resources? How are you working alongside others to support each other while you keep moving forward? How is your prayer life?

Prayer:

Lord God, bless us with the insight to know what our enemy is up to, to have the wisdom to know how to steward ourselves well, the wherewithal to seek others to maintain our strength and defences and to keep pressing forward in Your mighty name. Amen.