“So, I sent messengers to them saying, ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you.” (Nehemiah 6:3 NKJ).

Nehemiah had been sent by the Lord to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem which had been destroyed 70 years earlier. It was part of God’s plan for returning His people to their homeland in Israel. It was a huge task. And many of Israel’s neighbors opposed the idea of Jerusalem’s walls being rebuilt.

At first they mocked and ridiculed them (Neh. 4:1). When that failed they threatened them (Neh. 4:7-11). Their last attempt was to try and distract them by getting them to focus on something totally unrelated to what they were called to do (Neh. 6: 1-3). Because Nehemiah and his people refused to be intimidated or distracted the work was finally completed.

That is a small picture of our walk with the Lord! In our walk with Him, some people will mock and ridicule us. Some will threaten us with disapproval and say unkind, untrue, and hateful things about us to discourage us and disrupt our walk with the Lord. When neither of those is successful the adversary will then seek to distract us by enticing us to become involved in things (even good things) that take away from our continued growth in the Lord. We must be wise and careful to not allow our adversary to distract us from our walk and purpose in the Lord!

Rev. James W. Black