Today’s reading: Nehemiah 6:1-14
As Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the wall continues to progress, Tobiah, Sanballat and Geshem crank up the heat on their efforts to stop the work. The tactic they choose is a powerful one–fear. But Nehemiah isn’t fazed. He doesn’t allow the positioning, lies and threats to consume his thinking or turn his focus away from serving God and finishing his God-given task.
Refusing to give in to fear can be challenging. We’ve all experienced it. Something unexpected happens that rocks our world–bad health report, job loss, car accident, financial setback, house fire, divorce, death and the list goes on and on. And when we find ourselves facing one of these situations, our human instinct is to respond in fear. Our propensity is to take action based on our own thinking and power, which is the worst thing we can do. Nehemiah’s words in verse 13 capture this well.
“For this purpose he [Shemaiah] was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me.”
The good news is that we don’t have to fear when we encounter opposition and difficulties of any kind because our sovereign God is with us. He is aware of every detail of our lives, and if we keep our eyes on Him, He will walk with us to guide and bring us through our circumstances.
What did you learn or notice about not giving in to fear from Nehemiah’s example? Is it your practice to pray and talk with God about the things and circumstances that cause you to fear? Why is this important? Tami
Source: Tami’s Blog
