Nehemiah 4:1-23

Fear is a powerful weapon that Satan will often use to discourage those who strive to serve to Lord.  We live in a sin cursed world with sinful people so it is only to be expected that we will face trials and outright attacks from the enemies of the Lord.  We must constantly remind ourselves that the Lord is greater than our fears and that He is stronger than our enemies.  The greatest weapon that we have to fight off the enemy of fear is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  His power is far greater than any who oppose His work.  As long as we are obeying and trusting Him we can be confident that He will empower us to be victorious.

ISRAEL’S ENEMIES USED RIDICULE AND VIOLENCE TO PROMOTE FEAR: When the people of the region saw that the wall was being rebuilt, they started off by making fun of their efforts.  They did not think that it was possible for them to be able to rebuild the wall.  The rubble from the old wall was so great that the job looked impossible to do.  They made fun of Nehemiah’s efforts and tried to discourage the people by saying that it was pointless to rebuild because the wall would just fall all over again.  When the people were not discouraged by their ridicule, they change tactics and began to threaten the people with violence.  They planned to attach the people before the wall was complete and show them that they could never be safe in this land.  When we are doing the work of the Lord, we can be certain that Satan will try to discourage us and cause us to live in fear.  We must not give in to his tactics no matter how fearful the circumstances become.


ISRAEL’S PEOPLE USED RESOLVE AND VIGILANCE TO PROMOTE FAITH: Nehemiah responded to the ridicule with a firm resolve to continue doing the work.  He would not allow the people to be ashamed of the great work that they were doing.  Instead, he motivated them to press on with the work that the Lord had called them to do.  The threats of violence were a little more serious, but they still had to be met with faith instead of fear.  Nehemiah equipped the people for battle by given every man a sword.  He then organized the people in a way that they could quickly unite in cast of attack.  Finally, he united the efforts of the people by assigning guards to watch over the workers and be ready to protect them in case of attack.  God continues to look for men and women with resolve to go on in the face of difficult or even dangerous circumstance.  He calls us to be vigilant against the attacks of the enemy and face our fears with faith in the power of our Lord.

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