“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17. 

Have you ever had one of those days when everything possible has tried to hinder your progress? It’s just inevitable that Satan will try to deter us from completing anything that is spiritually beneficial and praiseworthy. Nehemiah was a Jewish high official serving as cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes I, who, upon hearing of Jerusalem’s ruined state, was appointed governor of Judah and returned to rebuild the city’s walls and reform its community. But trouble was just up ahead…his obedience, love for his people and steadfast commitment gives us an example of faith and hope in God on display during tough opposition.

The word of the Lord gives us this faithful promise...”No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17.

The enemy of our souls will do whatever it takes to make us give up on what God has purposed for us to do- his goal is to defeat us! Those opposed to Nehemiah and the Jews rebuilding the wall back around Jerusalem at first used sarcastic remarks and intimidating tactics to discourage the work. However, Nehemiah did not succumb to the scare tactics of their enemies, but instead engaged in consistent and fervent prayer. He had a mind to work and knew that the Lord was their ultimate weapon of warfare. It reminds me of a line from a gospel hymn that says…take it to the Lord in prayer!

The first recourse of Nehemiah was prayer, all our help cometh from the Lord. Romans 8:31 reminds us of God’s presence with us “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” We can stand in the face of any opposition when God is on our side. The Holy Spirit empowers us and gives us the courage to get the job done. We must place all of our trust in the Lord and His omnipotence.

It is also important that we watch as well as pray. The enemy may be assuaged for a moment, but you can be assured that he will strike again. Therefore, we must watch, work and pray, staying ready to defend our position in God. Nehemiah instructed those with him to work, keep sight of any intrusion and be prepared to fight on one accord. They even sleep with their clothes on!

What does that say to us…be ye also ready!  Regardless to what seems to be a retreat of the enemy, his only mission is to stop our progress from completing the tasks that God has commanded for us to do. Therefore, with a strong will and resolve to complete our divine appointments, we must work with all diligence. The bible tells us to stay sober minded…that denotes one with a clear head and focused on the things of God-and trusting in His omnipotence!

The voice of the naysayers will not only arise from outside, but inside as well. Discouragement, inferiority and fear are just few tactics of the enemy to take us off course. When we know that God has called us to do a work, we can forge on by His grace and mercy. He will give us the physical and above all spiritual strength to complete it. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6.

Finally, the Apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” We can stand tallest when fall to our knees in prayer…just a little talk with Jesus always makes it right! May God help us all to draw on our divine source of strength to keep moving no matter what, He can and will deliver us….and when He does…He gets the victory! “And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work. Nehemiah 4:15.  God will deliver us my friends…no weapon form against us shall prosper!

Blessings, peace and God’s amazing grace be with us all!