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When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.’ — Nehemiah 6:1-4

Jerusalem was in ruins with its walls broken down. Nehemiah, exiled and serving in the citadel of Susa under King Artaxerxes, had been burdened by the news from Jerusalem. Nehemiah had been told, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3). He prayed and God granted him favour before King Artaxerxes, who granted him permission to return home and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. This endeavour clearly had God’s backing and that of the king. You would expect that with such royal backing, both divine and human, all things would go well. Well, not when Satan is around. He didn’t appear in the form of the scary-looking caricatures we make of him in movies; he hired human agents to pursue his agenda. Sanballat and Tobiah were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (Nehemiah 1:10). They set about employing various schemes to disrupt the work of rebuilding that Nehemiah was spearheading. It is naïve to think that everyone is happy when your welfare is improved or when you take on what is God’s assignment for your life. Satan isn’t; his demonic and human minions aren’t either.

It is naïve to think that everyone is happy when your welfare is improved or when you take on what is God’s assignment for your life. Satan isn’t; his demonic and human minions aren’t either.

No Reason to Stop

On one such attempt at stopping the work, Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to Nehemiah saying, “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.” At face value, there was nothing sinister in that request but Nehemiah saw right through it. He knew that these evil men were scheming to harm him and ultimately truncate the work. In doing the work of God, you must be sensitive enough to know that not everyone is your friend and that not every ‘friendly’ approach is friendly.

Nehemiah’s response to this request is the crux of these meditations: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”

“I am carrying on a great project…”

You must realize the greatness of your calling and assignment. Others who do not know may want to trivialize it but you must know better. Your continuous pursuit of your purpose is dependent on your grasping the weight of what God has called you to do. Many times we have been called to great things but have failed to grasp the enormity of it. The work that Nehemiah was doing that he referred to as great was building work. You may want to think of it as mere artisanship, masonry or supervision but not Nehemiah. You may not think of it as ‘spiritual’ enough but this man thought of it as a great project. What has God called, gifted, and permitted you to do? What is your estimation of it? Do you think of it as a negligible work because it doesn’t garner public attention and ovation? If you don’t esteem it highly your chances of dropping it are high.

Your continuous pursuit of your purpose is dependent on your grasping the weight of what God has called you to do. Many times we have been called to great things but have failed to grasp the enormity of it.

“I cannot go down…”

Nehemiah thought so highly of his building project that he considered the invitation to meet people who had the ear of the powers of the day as going down and not up. Haven’t you thought that if you were connected to so and so politician or influential business person then your work would be seen as great? You must see your calling as more important than earthly connections; you must see the arm of flesh for what it truly is: down. Nehemiah was unequivocal: “I cannot go down”. You should be too about God’s assignment that you’re carrying out.

“Why should the work cease…”?

You need to arm yourself with double-edged responses to the enemy’s questions — responses that both rebuff him and keep your hands at work. Nehemiah was in essence asking his opponents: why is meeting with you so important that the work needs to be put on hold for the meeting to happen? Are you that consequential? Are you more important than what God has asked me to do?

The enemy will not always request a meeting in the words that he did with Nehemiah. Yours may be a variation of the tactic but the goal will be the same — to get you away from your assignment and derail it. For the work that Nehemiah was doing, the enemy clocked that inviting him to a meeting would do the harm. For Samson, it was women who served as the bait; for Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, it was material things and it worked. For the Apostles, he wanted to distract them with serving tables but he failed because they chose to focus on the ministry of the word and prayer instead of serving tables, a seemingly noble cause but a distraction from the primary task nonetheless. The enemy tried to distract the Lord Jesus with bread and the riches of this world; the people even tried to make him their king but they failed. Satan is not tactless, he will study you and come up with what he believes to be the most effective way to get you away from the work. The main goal is stopping the advancement of God’s Kingdom; getting you away from the portion of the Kingdom work you have been assigned is only a means to that end.

Think for yourself, is the assignment God has given you going on or has it stopped? In the parable of the talents, the man who received only one talent went and hid it without putting it to use. The enemy had him. What is your reason for stopping the work? Is it because you were given a ‘talent’ or a leadership position that you felt was beneath you? Did you leave that church or quit that sub-group because someone offended you? “I will not sing or usher in this church again because ABC did XYZ to me” you said. The devil has got one on you! A young man once told me he wasn’t going to church because he didn’t have a good change of clothes. Sounded good to him but is that why the work should stop? Ask yourself, why did the work stop? When you are called to account before your maker, will the answer to that question suffice? You should respond like Nehemiah to every arrow that the enemy launches your way and ask: why should the work stop?

You must see your calling as more important than earthly connections; you must see the arm of flesh for what it truly is: down

Those guys weren’t put off by Nehemiah’s one-time response; they sent the same message four times and each time he gave them the same answer. The enemy won’t be turned off by that singular response of yours to rebuff his distractions. He believes in the power of sustained pressure. He believes that over time, your resistance will weaken and you’ll give in. Again, Nehemiah modelled what your response should be. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a simple but effective response that wards him off while keeping you at your duty post is enough.

Never Give In To Lies

Jesus said the devil is a liar, has always been and is the father of lies. When he lies, Jesus said he speaks his natural language (John 8:44). It is no wonder that part of the ammunition in his arsenal would be lies. For the fifth attempt, Sanballat said in a letter that Nehemiah and the Jews were planning a revolt, with Nehemiah to be their king and that prophets had already been appointed to go to town with the proclamation of Nehemiah’s kingship. “We are not engaged in these activities you are describing. All of this is a figment of your imagination”, Nehemiah responded (Nehemiah 6:5-8).

If lies had not been effective weapons for the enemy over the years, he would have dispensed with them. Right from the Garden of Eden, they have served him well. He will attempt to use them on you too. Like Nehemiah, trust God to recognize his lies and respond to them robustly. Never give in to lies and be derailed by them.

Never Give In To Fear

Nehemiah said, ‘For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.”’ On another occasion, Shemaiah told Nehemiah to meet him and hide inside the temple because, according to him, some men were coming to kill Nehemiah. Telling Nehemiah to go hide in the house of God sounded like a very good place for a man of God to hide, after all, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Nehemiah saw through it: “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me” (Nehemiah 6:10-13). This was fear and lies neatly wrapped into one.

Fear is another weapon that has over the years served the enemy well. Fear defeats even before any danger has actually come. In fact, the fear of a supposed or impending danger, even if it is only imaginary is enough to bring defeat. “There is a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets!” (Proverbs 26:13), the sluggard says and never gets anything done. When Agabus prophesied of Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem, the brethren tried to dissuade him but he answered, “I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13). If only we can conquer fear.

There are many “Fear not” admonitions and commands in the word of God to help banish fear. Paul told Timothy that “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Walk in this spirit.

Fear is another weapon that has over the years served the enemy well. Fear defeats even before any danger has actually come.

Pray

‘But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands”’ (Nehemiah 6:9).

“Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me. So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days” (Nehemiah 6:14-15).

When the Bible says “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16), it doesn’t have to be complex or complicated. Nehemiah simply asked God to strengthen his hands and remember his opponents. Simple but effective. You will not be heard because of your many words or brilliant clichés, but because Jesus has secured your relationship with the Father. The Father himself loves you and is waiting to hear from you. The result was this: “The wall was completed … in fifty-two days”.

 A Final Word

Let the final word go to Jesus. Some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

The Lord’s reply is one of my favourite in all of Scripture for such circumstances: “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose” (Luke 13:31-32).

Let that be your attitude. May this be the final verdict on all our God-given assignments: “Completed. Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”