"Hey, Don't Make Me Come Over There!"

Nehemiah 4:2  "Sanballat was very angry.....saying in front of his friends and the Samaritan army officers, "What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they are doing?  Do they think they can build the wall in a day if they offer enough sacrifices?"

 

I feel like I'm at school watching some bully on the playground...who acts real tough when he's in front of his friends...but when Sanballat starts with the "Do they think they can build the wall in a day if they offer enough sacrifices?....I took a step back...just incase a lightening bolt comes down from heaven...The things we say when we are angry...oy vey!  Then Tobiah adds That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!"  Sanballat might have his friends...but Nehemiah and the Jews have their GOD! And so do we.

Now, we can't control what people say to us or about us...but we can control how we respond...and that's a key message in this chapter.  This is a spiritual battle and the battle belongs to the LORD.  The enemy wants us to respond in the flesh, but God wants us to respond in the spirit.  Nehemiah refuses to take the bait.   Instead of getting into a conversation with the enemy, Nehemiah turns and prays to God:  

"Hear us, O God, for we are being mocked."  

Nehemiah could have chosen to respond differently:  "Hey, don't make me come over there!"  Or, "Guys, can't we all just get along?"  But he chose to pray...and I wonder if  Proverbs 9:7-8 came to Nehemiah's mind as he prayed?  "Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you;  rebuke a wise man and 

he will love you."  This we do know...God heard those prayers, answered each one...giving Nehemiah wisdom on how to respond every time and He will do the same for us.

Father, help me to remember that yo have not called me to fight all the evils of this world.  You are my commander, and you lead the battle.   Help me to be like Nehemiah and always go to you first.  Keep me awake and watchful, never letting my guard down, for my enemy, the devil, never rests.  In Jesus name, amen.

Standing in Him,

Sharon