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Grace is all sufficient:
It makes your efforts in the Lord, fruitful in accomplishing God’s purpose for your life. And in the process, it takes in it’s stride the challenges that will inevitably come in your path to it. You will rise up and build, to taste success in your endeavor, as you trust in the faithful God, who has promised it to you. And it is where knowing and walking in the will of God for your life makes a vital difference, for whatever may be the grandness of your acquisitions and accomplishments, it would all be mere vanity otherwise, a fruitless chasing after the wind.
Studying the prayer of David therefore, that says, Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. [Psalm 143:10] to make it yours, will see you progress, and move forward, even in a time when everything seems to be going backward, and lock down seems to be the order of the day. Life’s challenges, the ups and downs that it throws at you, have always been there. And it is being well versed in the scriptures, the ebb and flow of it, that makes you stand through it all to reach your divine destination. For walking with God, and in His will, does not necessarily mean that there will not be hindrances and barricades in your path. And they are lessons that you learn as you study the lives of the patriarchs in the Bible, in order that you may have the wisdom and the strength to face it all victoriously.
Sowing – irrespective of circumstances:
Isaac, in a time of famine, was divinely led and enabled to sow in the parched land, to miraculously reap a hundred fold, in the course of the same year. [Genesis 26;1-13] It is also what the apostle Paul describes in the New Testament as the grace that was working in the Macedonian church, enabling them to give willingly even in a time of affliction and lack that they themselves were going through at that time. [2 Corinthians 8:1] And the truth of it, is not limited to merely your finances. For, it is your life that you sow as a seed in the kingdom of God in order to bear fruit; fruit that will last.
Your unique talent and gifting that is from God, distinguishing you from everyone else in the planet, is also what needs to be sown, as you employ it in a manner that brings glory and honour to God, is a blessing to others around you, and fulfillment to your own self, a peace and rest to your own soul that nothing else can bring. And it always has it’s challenges, as the Lord Himself has made clear, to also give the reason for your hope, even as you go through it all, that you will overcome and not succumb to the foul plans of the enemy.
‘These things I have spoken to you, that in Me, you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation; but, be of good cheer; for, I have overcome the world’. [John 16:33] The key lies in recognizing that it is in the past tense, that the Lord refers to the truth. It is a done deal! And it is not recognizing the ‘tense’ that can make you tense when trials and tribulations come, as they invariably will, at some point in your life, and more so when it is the call of God upon your life, that you are pursuing. And in the words of the psalmist, The righteous have many afflictions. But the Lord delivers him out of them all. [Psalm 34:19]
You are righteous, having been redeemed by the Blood of Christ. And, subsequently, as a Christian you face perplexing and peculiar problems, for they demand from you a very different response to a troubling situation, than what comes naturally in your flesh. You need to deal with them in a godly manner, in order to receive godly results. Therefore, when people harm you, you are called to bless them instead of retaliating. And, it could be difficult, when your flesh screams out for vengeance! But, overcoming evil by good, is how the Lord delivers you, out of your problem.
And sometimes, it could also as the psalmist has said, be a deliverance, that is a table prepared for you, in the presence of your enemies. [Psalm 23:5] It is also why the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans has listed all the varied trials and afflictions that can ever arise, to trouble a child of God, to gloriously qualify it saying that in it all, we will overwhelmingly conquer through the One who has loved us. [Romans 8:35-39]
The builder’s story:
The promise of success, and the path to it, in the face of challenges that come to obstruct and distract you, is what can be seen clearly and also studied, through the life of Nehemiah, in the manner in which he did not give up in trouble, but instead motivated the people to rise up and build the ruined walls of Jerusalem. Many were the wiles of the enemy that arose to bring him down, but he dealt with them all, in a godly manner, to ultimately succeed, all by the gracious mercy of the God of heaven, who had promised it to him.
And even in the specific call of God that rests upon you, as a child of God, a builder of God’s people in His Kingdom, His grace abounds, to see you succeed and flourish, against all odds. What came against Nehemiah can speak so powerfully in your heart and mine, for the evil one has nothing new up his sleeve even today in orchestrating a person’s downfall. His tactics remain very much the same, though the people he uses may be very different. Indeed, you will recognize them by their fruit; to also overcome every challenge, for He has overcome the world!
1. Criticism – that demoralizes you:
Words can hurt, even as an arrow that comes against you from the hand of an enemy. They can be poisonous, and aimed at your destruction, even as the psalmist has described to be his own experience. It was the opposition that came against Nehemiah as he set out on his godly calling. [Nehemiah 4:1-4] They were questions of doubt that mocked the effort of Nehemiah in beginning a task that seemed quite beyond his ability, or the combined efforts of the people of God. And quite natural, would have been a stinging retort, as an answer from Nehemiah. But it was not so. And his response, points the way, when people rise up against you, out of sheer envy and jealousy, and with the primary aim of discouraging you from pursuing your god given task.
Prayer – the right answer:
Instead of retaliating in anger, to speak back that can only complicate an already painful situation, Nehemiah spoke to the God of heaven and earth, to pray, ‘Hear, O our God, for we are despised….’ And to also lay the blame at the right door, saying, ‘They have provoked You to anger before the builders’. [Nehemiah 4:4,5] And as a result, even as the next verse goes on to say, they continued to build. God’s work did not slacken or come to a stop in the life of Nehemiah. Therefore, the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God, is what the word of God teaches you, when it comes to dealing rightly and successfully with an opposition challenge that threatens to discourage and demoralize you. Nehemiah prayed, and pursued his work; and so can you.
It also has to be borne in mind that even with the Messiah, Lord Jesus, there were people who criticized Him, and for the best of things that He did on earth, like healing a blind man on the Sabbath! And when a demon possessed man was healed by Him, it was a plea for Him to leave the scene that was the ridiculous response! The word of God, in describing the life of Joseph, mentions him being attacked by bitter archers. And, it is as the psalmist has penned his own woes, very often, the bitter critical words of your enemies that come against you like arrows to wound you in your soul, that you may lay down your God given purpose. But David laid it all down at the Lord’s feet in prayer, saying, ‘Lord, contend with those who contend with me’, and went on to make good progress. Nehemiah prayed and pursued to accomplish a mammoth task, that seemed far beyond his ability; and it was in the strength of the Lord, who also foiled the critics evil plans.
2. Conspiracies – that cause confusion:
Conspiracy theories are nothing new is what can be learned from Nehemiah’s life, as he began to pursue his divine purpose. There were those who rose up to conspire, or plot evil against him, in order to discourage and make him give up on his godly destiny. And it is a tactic that the evil one employs even today in your life and mine. And all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and cause confusion. [Nehemiah 4:8] It all comes to naught when the Almighty God is your ever present Helper, is also the unchanging truth. And all you need to do is to turn to Him in prayer, turning your eyes away from the snare of the enemy, even as Nehemiah did, Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God…[Nehemiah 4:9]
The psalmist David too encountered similar challenges, to also deal with them all in a similar fashion, to show the right path when you face such a situation. His eyes were not on the trap that was laid for him, but with faith and trust on the Lord who was going to deliver him out of it. He was confident of being safe and secure in the Lord. You and I serve the very same God; and He has promised to answer you, when you call upon Him. [Jeremiah 33:3] In your Christian walk, it is profitable to remember that prayer is a two way communication. And your prayer is powerful, yielding wonderful results, because you are a righteous person, having been made righteous by the precious Blood of Christ, and you are praying to a powerful and mighty God, for whom nothing is impossible.
He foils the plans of the crafty, to bring them down to nothing; and it is His plan for your life that is inestimably greater and higher, that will come to pass. And His plan for you is what you hold in your hand, His word that comes to you, as you meditate upon it, His word that is a lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path. And no weapon forged against you shall prosper. It is the heritage and vindication that comes to every child of God, and even in the life of Nehemiah.
And it happened that when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had brought their plot to nothing… [Nehemiah 4:15] God frustrated the plot of the enemy that came against Nehemiah and the builders who stood alongside him. And it is God’s plan that will prosper, even in your life, one that includes also His provision.
3. Calamities – that lead to bondage:
There were also those who said, ‘We have borrowed money for the king’s tax, on our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children, and indeed we are forcing our sons and daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards’. [Nehemiah 5:4,5] Financial challenges in the form of debt and mortgage, are so relevant, in the present society that is riddled by the negative effects of a virus that seems to be spreading it’s tentacles in every aspect of life, even in the economic realm.
And it has to be said in favor of Nehemiah, that as a leader he was receptive and not dismissive or in denial concerning the difficulties of the weaker sections of his own people, who were oppressed and needed redemption of what had been taken away from them, even their own sons and daughters, who out of financial necessity, had been sold into slavery. But though, his initial reaction, reacting in a fleshly level was one of anger, one that cannot produce the righteousness of God, he turned around to deal with it in a way that was pleasing and right in His sight. And, it is walking in God’s ways, that yields godly results.
The counsel of God’s testimonies:
I took counsel with myself, and brought charges against the nobles and the lords .. [Nehemiah 5:7] And it was a counsel based on the testimonies of God; for it is always, turning to the word of God that leads you in the right path, as you absorb and learn from the working of God in people’s lives in their time of need. In the case of the widow with two sons who came to the prophet Elisha, for her sons were about to be taken captive as payment for her husband’s debts, God met her need, through the counsel of the prophet, which was to sell the oil that miraculously increased in her home, to repay her debt and live with the rest. [2 kings 4:1-7]
And He is the God who never changes. His nature is ever the same, in being always helpful. It may not be in the same manner, but He will certainly intervene in a wondrous manner in order to meet your need, even as you look to Him in faith. Let the word of God that is dwelling in you richly therefore, always be your inner counsel to be led on level ground, to move forward victoriously against challenges that come to disturb you as you embark on doing what God has called you to do. For, the evil one will not give up easily, as like a roaring lion, he prowls around you, seeking whom to devour, only waiting for an opportune time.
4. Chorus of distractions:
There were attempts made repeatedly, to distract Nehemiah; voices that spoke to him, seeking to distract and convince him into giving up on the work that he knew was God’s call upon his life. ‘Come let us meet together, among the villages in the plains of Ono. But they thought to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them saying, I am doing a great work; so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease, when I come down to meet with you?’ [Nehemiah 5:1-4]
It could be the same even in your life, when you are involved in doing God’s great work, that of rising up to build His kingdom, here on earth, in whatever role you are called to play in it, in being part of His Story. What could be more fulfilling than it?! And, Nehemiah withstood them all, displaying an indomitable spirit and perseverance that was truly born out of the wisdom and strength from above, that of the Holy Spirit. It can be your story of victory too, as you stand against every attack of the enemy, not in your own strength, but in the strength of the Lord God Almighty, who is always there to help you, no matter what the nature and magnitude of your need is.
5. Choked – made anxious and afraid:
For they were all trying to make us afraid saying, ‘Their hands will be weakened in their work, and it will not be done. Now therefore O God, strengthen my hands’. [Nehemiah 6:9] Fear, the weapon of the enemy, always tries to hinder you from accomplishing what God wants you to do. ‘Do not fear’ therefore, is so often the assurance of the ever living, and ever loving God, in the Old Testament, and also in the New. It is what the Lord spoke, even to the apostle Paul, as he stood in the deck of the ship that was storm tossed, and seemed about to drown.
But, as seen in the life of Nehemiah, it can only attempt to stop you. When you are a child of God, it cannot overcome you, for there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear. And God is love! He has given you not a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and a sound mind.
‘Call unto ME..’
All you need to do is to call out to Him in prayer, for He has promised to answer you. His answer will strengthen you, as it did in the heart of Nehemiah, enabling him to pursue and persevere, without getting discouraged in the midst of overwhelming challenges. His answer will bring healing and strength in you, in order to accomplish what God has called you to do, even as Nehemiah succeeded in his task of rebuilding the wall, in just fifty two days, testifying to the enemies who watched it all, that it was truly the work of the supernatural God, and His wonder working power. And it is freely available even to you this day, though you may be engulfed by challenges that seem as if they could devour you. Nehemiah’s story of godly success will be yours too!
So the wall was finished on twenty fifth day of the month of Elul, in fifty two days. [Nehemiah 6:15] It was a success that came from the hand of God, an answer to Nehemiah’s prayer. And you can even on this day, have the confident hope and declaration of faith in your mouth to say as Nehemiah, ‘The God of heaven Himself will make us prosper. And so, we will rise up and build’. [Nehemiah 2:20]
And may it culminate, as it certainly will, in the victorious confession of good and godly success that was Nehemiah’s saying, And it happened when all our enemies heard about it, and all the nations around us saw these things, they were disheartened in their own eyes, for they perceived that the work was done by our God’. Giving grateful thanks unto the Lord, therefore, may you offer yourselves as a living sacrifice unto the Lord, surrendering to His call upon your life, according to His gracious mercy, For, the God who has begun the good work in you will certainly carry it on to a flourishing finish, until the Day of Christ Jesus.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
