“But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat (Nehemiah 4:9).
The enemy got upset about the determination and the seeming success of Nehemiah and marshals it’s forces, intensifying the attack, and begins to plan direct violence. Nehemiah reacted by relying on prayer lazed with action. He prayed, he took action by posting guards to square up with the threats of the enemies. He knows that, for prayer to be effective, it requires action.
When you begin to move with God to change things in your life for the better, you will find that you are met first with derision, and if you keep persisting, someone is going to get very upset with you and attack you in a vicious, perhaps physical, way. This combination of the resources of the spiritual force of heaven with those of the material world is a marvelous picture of how believers ought to face threats and challenges recognising that we need action on both levels.
Have you ever faced something like that? Were you ever unjustifiably threatened at workplace? Nehemiah’s approach is a lesson to us. He did not lazily spiritualise it and waited folding arms expecting God to show up. Rather,
- He evaluated the situation, assessed what is needed, where it is needed and how.
If we are going to succeed and improve our own lives, we must be able to honestly and objectively. When we do, we must ‘post a guard’ at that point.
- Reviewed the spiritual resources available to them.
They had a power at work in their lives that their enemies knew nothing about. The great and awesome God who was with them would stand with them in their peril. When they remembered this, they became reassured and renewed in courage. The enemy saw that they could achieve nothing with their attacks.
How do you respond to your life issues? When your spirit is down and there wars within, what spiritual resources are available to be victorious? Do you see yourself as not being alone? Are you always conscious of the presence of the risen Jesus? He is awesome. He is strong. He is powerful. Reckon upon Him, and you will be able to stand against the wiles of the enemy.