Hear, O our God, for we are despised; turn their reproach on their own heads, and give them as plunder to a land of captivity! Do not cover their iniquity, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before You; for they have provoked you to anger before the builders.
So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height for the people had a mind to work.
Nehemiah 4:4-6  NKJV

When we set out to do what God has called us to do, there will be distractions. You can be sure the enemy will try to stop us. Nehemiah faced a great deal of opposition when he was rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. The governors from the surrounding towns wanted it stopped and would even resort to killing the builders to do so.

But in chapter 4 of Nehemiah, we see Nehemiah combining his faith with action. We must pray and have faith, but when we are working for the Lord, we must trust in Him and get back to work. We can’t let the work stop because the enemy is trying to distract us.

We saw King Jehosaphat facing opposition in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Three different nations were coming against him to wage war. He gathered his people and proclaimed a fast and they prayed for God to deliver them. In verse 17 God responded by telling the people not to be afraid because they would not have to fight this battle. He told them to suit up, position themselves and stand still and see the salvation of the LORD. He ended by saying, “Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.” They watched their enemies destroy each other. They did not even have to draw their swords.

Nehemiah prayed, he knew the Lord was with them as He had been with Jehosaphat and his people. He also knew he had to keep working on the wall. He had to keep building. Nehemiah also positioned people along the wall with swords, spears, and bows. The builders carried swords on them while they worked. They were prepared to fight if necessary knowing God was with them.

As Christians we often believe this means we will never have to fight or protect ourselves. We must not be lulled into thinking this way. There is nowhere in the Bible that tells us we will never have to fight evil forces. On the contrary, we are told how to fight these evil forces.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

It’s natural to want to put a face to our enemy, but we aren’t really fighting a visible enemy, we are fighting an invisible enemy. It’s the enemy we don’t see that we must be concerned about. Paul said in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. He goes on to tell us to take up the whole armor of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

There will be times when we will pray and have faith but will also need to ad action to our faith or we will have to act in faith. Be ready when God calls you to act. Read Ephesians 6:14-18 and be sure that you suit up in your armor every day for we never know when the enemy will strike.

And know that when you fight God is right there with you. He will take good care of you. Trust in Him and do what He has called you to do.

Have a great day!