Thread by @JoyfulLife4Him

Don’t let the enemy distract you!

Has the Lord called you to do something? When God calls us to do a task for Him, it’s not always easy is it?

A task by def. can be something hard or unpleasant to do; it can mean a rebuke, or adverse criticism of something or someone!

It’s also important to know in order to be prepared mentally, physically, & emotionally, that the enemy will do everything in his power to stop you!

He will often use people to accomplish that! People who discourage you, say you’re on the wrong path, and that you’re not really doing the Lord’s work!

He will even cause you to doubt the mission you’ve been given! Especially when you’re under attack!

Let’s look at Nehemiah! He had been told the people of God were under great affliction, and that the wall of Jerusalem had been broken down, and its gates burned, and it grieved him!

Nehemiah 1:4
And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down & wept, & mourned certain days, & fasted, & prayed before the God of heaven.

He cried out to the Lord & confessed his sins, & the sins of His people! He reminded Him of His promises to His people!

[1:9] But if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My Name there.

Nehemiah was a cupbearer in the kings house. He went before him with a sad heart, the king noticed, and the Lord put it in his heart to allow Nehemiah to go and rebuild the wall!

But when the enemy heard about this he was angry! The enemy worked through Sanballat, and others to try and discourage Nehemiah from his task!

Nehemiah then told the people with him the task he’d been given, as of yet, he had told no one!

[2:18] Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.

Beloved, like in Nehemiah’s case, some will laugh at us, and despise us for what we’re doing, and others will join in with them! How dare we do this thing!

[2:19] But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?

Instead of letting this deter our work, we should reply as he did!

[2:20] Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, He will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.

The people with Nehemiah began to rebuild and repair the wall side by side!

If we are blessed to have others who believe in the task we’ve been given, we too will work side by side, even as the enemy mocks and taunts us!

The enemy will be especially angry when he sees the work is not being stopped!

[4:1] But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

They got to gather with a planned attack against Nehemiah! Why? In order to try and stop the work God had tasked them with!

[4:8] And conspired all of them together to come and to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it.

What was their response to this attack?

Prayer, and continuing the task at hand! This should be our response as well! We are not to be ignorant of the devil’s schemes!

[4:9]
Nevertheless we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.

The enemy tries to sneak in, even disguised as a friend to discourage and stop us! Sound familiar?

[4:11] And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.

They also prepared their weapons to fight back!

We are not to fear the enemy, but we are to use the weapons we’ve been given to fight him!

Eph. 6 tells us our weapons, & we’re also told in Corinthians they are powerful! More powerful than anything the enemy can use against us!

2 Corinthians 10:4
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

When the enemy sees we are not deterred he will retreat for a little while!

[4:15] And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, & God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.

We must not let down our guard! They worked with one hand & held their weapon in the other!

The enemy will always return! Others were watchful for the enemy and sounded the trumpet when they were spotted!

[4:17-18] They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work,

And with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me.

[4:20] In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.

We read in chapter 6 that when the enemy saw the work being completed he then tried another tactic, and not just once but five times!

The enemy won’t give up easily and neither should we!

[6:2-3] That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. And I sent messengers unto them, saying,

I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?

They tried scare tactics too! But Nehemiah prayed for strength!

[6:9] For they all made us afraid, saying, Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done. Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.

These men were hired by the enemy to discourage God’s people! They used lies and tried to smear them as well!

[6:12-13] And, lo, I perceived that God had not sent him; but that he pronounced this prophecy against me: for Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.

Therefore was he hired, that I should be afraid, and do so, and sin, and that they might have matter for an evil report, that they might reproach me.

Beloved, if these tactics of the enemy are being used against you, you know what to do! Pray to the Lord, keep your weapons handy, and don’t stop the work!

[6:16] And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.

And keep your eyes on Him! Don’t let the words or actions of men discourage you!
#EyesOnHim

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