We must guard our hearts with prayer and His Word day and night. That is how we will be vigilant against the enemy when he attacks. What is more telling here is that Nehemiah paid extra attention to the "exposed places" and placed extra protection there. So we must as well in our lives. We all have exposed places in our lives. These are the places the enemy most easily attacks us at. Maybe we are more prone to attacks on our prejudices, our lust, or maybe our pride. More than just knowing our enemy, we must know ourselves to properly protect these exposed places in our lives. In addition to guarding our exposed places Nehemiah reminds us that we must remember that God is great and awesome and that we too must fight for what we hold dear to us. But in any battle we face, God faces it for us first:
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31: 8
Hallelujah! The Lord Himself goes before us! We have no reason to fear or to discourage! He will never leave us or forsake us! While we reside in these mighty promises, remember the enemy will keep coming. Having faced ridicule and open threats, soon Nehemiah would be faced with distraction, another weapon the enemy wishes to use against us. Four times Sanballat and his cohorts would send a message to Nehemiah to meet with them and each time the response from Nehemiah was the same:
so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" Nehemiah 6: 3
What great project are you doing for the Lord in your life? What does He have you working on? I am sure that the request to meet seemed reasonable but Nehemiah knew who He worked for and who his enemies were. Likewise, we should not engage in a conversation with the enemy. We should not agree to meet with the enemy. There is no common ground to be struck. We are doing a great project and cannot go down, period.
And so we come to our key verses. The wall was completed and
the schemes of the enemy had failed. With it, so did the confidence of all of
the enemies of those in
The more your enemies see God at work in your lives the easier the battles become. The more guarded you are against the exposed places in your walk, the less susceptible you are to the schemes the enemy throw at you. Mockers fade in light of the work God has for you to do. Threats no longer resound in light of the work God has for you to do. Distractions and offers to meet with the enemy are ignored in light of the work God has for you to do. You simply cannot come down.
Reverend Anthony Wade July 8, 2009
