Nehemiah 6:9-11 - They were all trying to frighten us, thinking,
"Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be
completed." [But I prayed,] "Now strengthen my hands." One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of
Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, "Let
us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close
the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you--by night they are coming
to kill you." But I said,
"Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple
to save his life? I will not go!"
The wall around Jerusalem was being repaired in record time….and
the enemies that sought to keep it torn down got desperate. So they began to plot to kill Nehemiah…thinking
that if they killed this leader …surely the people would be so frightened they
would stop work on the wall. Four times they sent messengers to tell Nehemiah
to come meet with them…but Nehemiah always said no…and prayed to God for
strength instead.
The fifth time they sent an unsealed letter…full of lies
about Nehemiah’s intentions. The letter was meant to stir up trouble against
Nehemiah’s good character…and scare him into hiding in the Temple. But he was not afraid….he knew his place was
not in the Temple…it was outside rebuilding the wall. So with the strength he had received from God
in prayer…he continued to encourage the people to finish the wall.
Nehemiah is a model to me of how to face my worst
fears. His resolve to finish God’s work…came
from the relationship he had with God in prayer. He refused to give in to the ploys that satan
created around him to slow down the mission God had given him to do. He was so
focused on the job had given him to do ...praying for strength and guidance all
along the way...he could discern the traps set to slow him down.
The relationship we have with God determines what we do when
faced with fears of any kind. Satan
knows just what buttons to push to scare us…and the only way we can send him
packing is to call on the name of Jesus to give us strength and courage to tell
him to go away. We must stand strong in our faith …and refuse to give in to the
fear and lies satan presents to our hearts to intimidate us. We must instead call out to God for strength
and courage to keep moving forward in the task he gave us all to do.
Father…thank you for this great story that reminds me to
call out to you when I am scared. Help
me to always remember to stop and pray to you for strength and courage…then
allow you to fill me with your wisdom and your love…so that I can send satan
packing with his bag of lies. Show me how to pray like Nehemiah…and gain
strength and wisdom and courage from my time with you. Show me how to face my fears …with your great
strength and power…allowing you to hold my hand. Amen.
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