Progress in Spite of Opposition - The Hope of Nehemiah - Episode #168

Hello there, welcome to this episode of the podcast, I’m your host Jan L. Burt, and I am tremendously thankful you’re listening. In this episode, we’ll be looking at the book of Nehemiah, which holds so much hope, in the midst of genuine opposition, and the wonderful truth that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Let’s jump into this chapter.

God's Best for My Life Devotional

You’re listening to The Burt (Not Ernie) Show, part of the Spark Network, found on the Edifi app. Today’s show is sponsored by the devotional God’s Best For My Life, by Lloyd John Ogilvie, available via Moody Church Media. The link to purchase your copy is in the show notes, and if you need a new devotional for the upcoming new year, or maybe a Christmas gift, this devotional is worth reading. It is powerful in that it is life-changing and based solidly on the Bible. It’s on my list to give this year, because it’s a game changer. This is episode number 168.

Nehemiah chapter 4, verses 1 through 3 and today I’m reading from the CSB, from my Spurgeon study Bible. 

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious. He mocked the Jews before his colleagues and the powerful men of Samaria, and said, “What are these pathetic Jews doing? Can they restore it by themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they ever finish it? Can they bring these burnt stones back to life from the mounds of rubble?” Then Tobia the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall.”

 

The header for this chapter is titled, Progress In Spite Of Opposition.

Anybody feel like they are up against some opposition? Trying to make progress - maybe in your finances and the economy is fighting you. In your health and man, it’s so hard, this time of year, to make changes or find time to get to the gym, or to cut out your favorite craft coffee…we were in Florida over Thanksgiving and we had some good coffee while we were there, at a place we really love, and it would not have been easy to give up good coffee right before heading down south on that trip. What about trying to make progress for God’s glory, doing Kingdom work, maybe in your family, doing family devotions, Christmas and nightly advent devotions seemed like a great idea but some of those kids, they are in opposition to this idea and it’s hard. Trying to keep the neighborhood outreach going, but nobody else is really helping out and it’s just so hard…Okay, you get the picture. We all have times of opposition. But are we making progress in spite of it? Now, not everything that WE decide to work on is something God is going to bless, because sometimes we’re selfish, sometimes we know He wants us to go over here but those people are difficult and so lemme just go on this a way and start doing this other thing, and God won’t You just bless it same as You would if I’d done what You said? There are times we are doing good-ish stuff but it isn’t God-ish stuff, He didn’t ask us to do this, He said to do that. Or we never even asked Him, we just jumped in, started this new thing, it’s way more than we bargained for and we don’t feel like He’s giving us much favor. Gotta talk to Your Father about these things, my friends. And you also have to do what He says, and ideally do it quickly because obedience matters so much. I’ve got something I am going to do this week, and it’s a busy week, getting busier and busier by the second, but it’s gonna get done cuz He said to do it. By the start of next week, I’ll have it done. Because that’s the timeline He’s given me and I’m going to obey. I want His blessing, I want His favor, don’t you? I want progress in spite of opposition. And satan is against us, because we are part of the family of God. So we will have opposition. 

 

In these verses, we see two men who are just on a tear. They are against Nehemiah, they are against all of the Jewish people who are back in Israel doing a rebuilding work. They are not nice or polite in these verses, and they don’t get nicer or politer (that’s not a word, but whatever) as this book continues. Why do we expect the opposition to be nice and tidy and neat and polite and manageable and not so darn mean when we’re dealing with it because we’re obeying the Lord? It’s not nice. It’s not polite. And often, it comes from the back, the sides, the flanks, not head on directly where we can see it coming and get ourselves ready. Nehemiah kept working, alongside many others, and he also prayed that these attacks would be stopped and their attackers dealt with. In verse 13 we find that things got so rough that Nehemiah stationed people around the vulnerable areas and the lowest sections of the walls with swords, spears and bows. He also reminded the people not to be afraid of their enemies, but to remember the great and awe-inspiring Lord, as they fought for their countrymen and their families and their homes (see vs. 14). Remember the Lord should inspire us to awe. He is awesome, we ought to be in awe of Him. Every so often, take time to stand in awe, to stand amazed, and to ponder just who this God is that you know and serve and love. Need some courage? That’s one way to find it, and not courage based on others, on yourself, on circumstances. Courage in the Lord. 

 

In chapter four we see that they did the rebuilding work with a trowel in one hand, so yes this is manual labor they were doing, literally rebuilding this wall brick by brick, a trowel is used for brick laying type work, masonry, they had the trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. They were working, they were ready to fight and defend themselves, and they were reliant on God. The end of this chapter says they never removed their weapon, even when washing. This threat was real.

 

Listen, you may feel pushed on, under a heavy spiritual weight at times. Your threat, your attack, it is also real. It’s okay if you need to do your daily work with one hand a keep your spiritual weapon in the other. Put on the full armor of God, and if you haven’t done that in a while or want to know where that is in the Bible, NT Ephesians chapter 6. Get in the Bible daily. Pray daily, and don’t just give God your list and then sign off, but listen for what He might say to you, how He may answer you. And put on worship music. All these are ways to keep a weapon in your hand. The enemy is real, and he hates Jesus and so he also hates you because you belong to Jesus. Use the weapons God has given you, and don’t feel bad about it. We don’t fight against people, our enemies are in the spiritual realm, remember that. And ask the Lord to protect you and to help you, which is what Nehemiah did.

 

Jump to chapter 8, and we find the people all gathered together and Ezra, from the last episode we mentioned him, he read the book of the law of Moses from daybreak until noon before the people. Verse 3b says, “All the people listened attentively to the book of the law.”

 

When you are at church, do you listen attentively or distractedly?

Ya know, I have to say, this is in total honesty, we don’t listen as attentively as we ought to. Lots of reasons for this, most of them you already know and don’t need me to mention. But I will say this: church hurt is real, and some folks are in the church each week, they are there, but they have some hurt from prior experiences and they love Jesus and they love His people, but they have been through some stuff and honestly, I do believe some of the inattentive “listening” we find is linked to this. Keep attending church if this is you. Keep praying, keep reading your Bible, keep listening for the Spirit of the Lord to speak to you, and keep allowing space in your life for God to bring you healing. That’s all I want to say on this issue today, but I don’t think I’m wrong that there are walking wounded in our churches and some of those wounds came from within the body of Christ. Thank you to those who are in church even when you’ve been hurt. I’m glad you’re there!

 

Ya know, maybe the promise for us from this book, for this episode, is that we can rebuild. We can trust God again. And again. We can serve alongside people, even those who are also rebuilding and recovering from a long, hard season. We don’t have to be perfect, to get better before we show up, we don’t have to hide out and avoid the rebuilding work God has for us to do.

 

We live in a hurting society where God is being rejected and pushed aside at every turn. There are a thousand areas where we can see rebuilding would be helpful. Ask God if He has a work for you to do, to be part of, to join, in the world in which you live. Your workplace, your family, your church, your neighborhood. And as He leads, you follow. If it’s a work that requires you to build with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other, that’s okay. It’s happened before, with success, and God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Who He is does not shift, and we can ask Him to help us and know that He will. 

 

And if you need some part of your life to be rebuilt, would you be brave enough to believe that God cares for you, about that area of your life, so very much that He will do the rebuilding work that needs to be done, in the way He knows is best, in the timeframe that He chooses, and with the means, resources, people and ways that He decides? Sometimes we’ve just been so hurt, we don’t even realize we never asked Him to help us, to heal us, to rebuild. Go ahead and ask. He’s so good, and His love for you knows no bounds. Rebuild in us and through us, Lord! Do what You do best! Thanks for joining me today and I hope you’ll be back next time - I’m so grateful for your time and I am praying you have a blessed, Christ-centered month of December. Lord bless you! Bye bye!