This kinder, gentler approach was nevertheless evil and rejected
By Dean Collins
Over the centuries, whenever God’s people have worked on what God directed them to do, there has always been opposition. So I am guessing you have received pushback as you’ve begun your current restoration project. And I’m encouraging you not to let the naysayers interrupt your work.
I have confidence that as you do your kingdom assignment, you are successfully identifying and fixing the resistance from within your community. Once everyone is focused on the right path together it is amazing how fast the work can be accomplished, even if the project seems impossible.
“Take a break”
This is how it was for Nehemiah. The walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed more than a hundred years before Nehemiah began his project. He spent about four months in prayer and planning before he started. By chapter 6 of Nehemiah in less than 2 months after starting, Nehemiah was nearly finished. He had rallied the people and only had the gates left to hang when the next attempt to stop him was launched. This time the tactic was more friendly.
The leaders of the opposition took a different approach. Instead of threats, they chose to simply invite Nehemiah to take a break. Maybe it was presented as opportunity to rest and relax. Maybe it was positioned as the chance for a new partnership. The Scripture doesn’t actually tell us. What we know is that Nehemiah saw right through this kinder and gentler approach to distract him and simply sent back a message to Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gresham: “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
“It will be ugly”
Nehemiah wasn’t bragging about himself. He was simply acknowledging that God had called him to a God-sized initiative and he could not and would not stop the mission. But the three detractors wouldn’t take no for an answer. They continued four times trying to interrupt Nehemiah’s work. Each time they brought a different accusation, the final one being a “rumor” they reported to Nehemiah that he was planning a rebellion against the king. When the king hears about it, they said, it will be ugly.
Nehemiah knew these words were lies. He knew what God called him to do. He knew his opposition wanted to frighten him and his team of workers so they would stop. He knew and they knew that Nehemiah was almost finished.
Nehemiah didn’t waste his time trying to argue the truth. He trusted God to manage the narrative and to give him the strength to stay on task.
Don’t stop!
There are so many things we can learn from Nehemiah that will help us as we do our works of restoration. But maybe the most important things are relatively simple.
1) Pray before and throughout the assignment.
2) Don’t waste your time trying to defend yourself. If God has called you to the task, then stay on the task.
3) Remember the ultimate enemies are not the ones you see. They are simply the ones being used by God’s enemy to try and get you to stop doing God’s work.
Let’s all agree we will stay on mission this year no matter what. Centuries after Nehemiah, the apostle Paul reminded early Christians that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” But God has provided us protection against this enemy. And no one and nothing can stop God’s work when we surrender our plans and our lives to him.
Your time with God’s Word
Nehemiah 6:1-4, 6-9, 15-16; Ephesians 6:10-13, 18-19 ESV
Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash
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