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Nehemiah 4:1-3
Message No. 0670 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca
When Nehemiah saw the ruins of the walls of Jerusalem and made up his mind to go back home and rebuild the walls, he probably thought no one in his or her right senses would oppose him. After all, which devil would oppose such a noble cause? Little did he know that he would receive such fierce opposition that would make him and the builders resort to carrying arms to ward off enemies during the execution of the project. Among those who opposed the project were Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem (the Arabian). They were so ridiculous in their opposition that they uttered the following words of mockery in Nehemiah 4:2-3:
“…What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they complete it in a day? Will they revive the stones from the heaps of rubbish—stones that are burned?” …“Whatever they build, if even a fox goes up on it, he will break down their stone wall.”
No matter how thick-skinned you are, no one likes to be ridiculed. If you are thin-skinned, then your situation is even worse. So, when these enemies not only opposed Nehemiah but employed both physical and psychological weapons against him, it must have been very tough on him.
I recently saw a video where the pastor of a popular gospel singer said something that was very discouraging about one of the songs of the singer. I was actually quite surprised that anyone would utter words against the song, let alone the singer’s pastor. I saw the face of the singer when the pastor made his utterances and it was not smiley, to put it lightly. Now, the singer could go back home and weep or go back home and pray. The fact is that almost the whole world is being blessed by this song and no one would expect that discouragement would come from one of the closest people to the singer.
One of the greatest mistakes we could make in life is to expect that everyone would like us or like what we do. You may think that your actions are so clearly helpful and so transparently harmless, but there’s always someone out there who would interpret your service in the opposite direction of what you are doing. Jesus healed on the sabbath day, and the Pharisees wanted to kill Him. He cast demons out of people, and they accused Him of using the power of Beelzebub. They even forgot that you cannot use the power of the devil to cast out the devil.
Do you have a ministry? Do you have a calling? Are you delivering service that is blessing people and bringing people to God’s Kingdom? I urge you to continue and pay no attention to any disparaging words uttered by anyone, most especially those from whom you never expect them. Do not forget that Jesus, our Savior, was hated, most discouragingly, by the very people He came to save. In Luke 6:40, the Bible says a disciple is not greater than his master, therefore, if the master was hated and criticized, then the disciple ought to expect that the same fate would befall him or her.
We must learn to ignore all side talks and every distraction that is capable of derailing our ministry and look unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. We must resist every temptation that wants us to be discouraged or depressed just because some people are talking negatively about us. The God who gave us the assignment is the only Being we are accountable to and if He is happy with us then no other opinion is worth our attention. Have a blessed week and God bless you!
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If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!
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