I love the story of Nehemiah. His concern for the people of Israel is something that I pray more people would have for their neighbors. God raised him up to go and rebuild the walls of the city. To see the people of God thrive again. He truly showed the heart of God when he prayed and fasted for a people who had just come through a long exile period. But Nehemiah’s mission to promote the welfare of Israel drew heavy fire from the enemy. Whenever you step out and do something to the proportion that Nehemiah attempted, even good people can react in shocking ways.
There was mockery and ridicule (2:19), a plot to disrupt efforts by force (4:8), trickery (6:2), intimidation (6:13), and when all else failed, infiltration (13:7). There was also internal undermining that needed to be nipped in the bud (5:7). Nehemiah treated all these as spiritual warfare – with the Lord as his main source of strength. When the work was completed in only 52 days, his enemies lost confidence because they realized they had been fighting against God himself. 15 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. -Nehemiah 6:15-16 People who long for a spiritual awakening are not naive. The enemy doesn’t give ground easily, fierce opposition can be expected. But seasoned troops don’t run at the first sign of hostile fire. People who are truly seeking the Lord with all of their heart and saturating in the Word of God know that the battle is the Lord’s and that great victories come only in His strength. May God encourage you to keep praying and believing for victory. May the big obstacle you are facing be revealed for what it is. If it is not of the Lord then just watch it begin to fail in God’s time. Be patient and strong in the Lord. I am looking forward to continuing on with Acts 11 on Sunday as we gather for worship. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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