Hear us, our God for we are despised.  Turn their insults back on their own heads.  Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.  Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.                                                                                               So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.  Nehemiah 4:4-6  NIV

Our scripture passage today comes from Nehemiah.  Nehemiah had been burdened by the trouble and disgrace that the Jews were facing.  The Jewish remnant that had survived the exile was living in Jerusalem.  The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and the gates burned with fire.  The people living there were in disgrace.  This troubled Nehemiah, so he wept, mourned and fasted.  He repented and prayed to God. After praying to God, Nehemiah determined to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem so that the city and it’s citizens would no longer be in disgrace.  But, as with everything we do, there were those who were opposed to him rebuilding the wall.  They despised him and even plotted to do him harm.  When you turn to God, I can assure you that there will be those that despise you and insult you because of your faith.

If you have never read the book of Nehemiah, I strongly encourage you to do so.  It’s only 13 chapters, but it is a wonderful read.  Anytime I encounter a counseling client that feels as though their life is hopeless, I encourage them to read this book.  You can rebuild.  You can restore  and God will redeem you.  It just might not be easy.  But that’s okay, God never calls us to do the easy stuff.

Years ago my pastor talked several Sundays in a row about how he was going to be preaching soon on the book of Nehemiah.  I had no idea what the book was about.  I was working then and didn’t have a lot of extra time so I didn’t bother to read it.  My husband and I were engaged at that time, but things weren’t going so well.  We both wanted a good solid relationship with God, but didn’t want to give up the sin in our lives.  Well, it doesn’t work that way.  So God destroyed our relationship with each other.  We were both devastated and turned to God.  After a few days we agreed that we would remain friends.  After a few more days, we spoke on the phone one night.  I had been reading the book of Nehemiah.  He told me that he had been doing the same thing.  Through reading this book, we realized that just like Nehemiah rebuilt that wall with God’s blessing, protection and help, we could rebuild our relationship.  What a difference it makes when you trust in God!

Perhaps you have some part of your life, or maybe all of your life, that you feel has been destroyed.  Well, let me tell you, my friend, with Jesus there is hope.  We serve a God that can calm the storm and move mountains into the sea.  He can certainly clean up the mess that you have made out of your life.

But there is one very important thing that you must be prepared for.  When you start to trust in God and try to rebuild your life, the devil will come against you with all he has.  Just as these men opposed Nehemiah, the devil will oppose you.  If the devil isn’t bothering you now, perhaps its because he feels that you are doing a good work for him.  But as soon as you commit your life to God, the devil will be angry and will try to win you back into your sinful way of life.  So be aware.

Nehemiah had God’s blessing to rebuild this wall.  He had God’s protection.  But, he also had men that were opposed to what he was doing.  In chapter 6 one of them tried to entice Nehemiah to come down and meet with him.  Nehemiah knew they were scheming to harm him.  He refused to come down saying, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot come down.”  Nehemiah’s focus was on God first and the job that God had assigned to him second.  Oh, if only we could all have that focus.  Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.  Nehemiah loved the Lord.  Nehemiah was not going to be distracted by his opponents.  Such a strong life lesson can be learned here.

When you attempt to enter into a close relationship with Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior, there will be those who oppose you.  Maybe the devil will work through friends, maybe through family members.  Romans 8:31 tell us that if God is for us, who can be against us.

If you are reading this and feel that your life is in a shambles and you want to give up, know this, you can rebuild with God’s help.  God can redeem you.  God can restore your life to one that is full of peace and joy.  Also know that there will be those that come against you.  God also knows how to handle our enemies.  Just trust in Him and focus on the work that He wants you to do.  When we do this, He handles everything else.

If you want to rebuild, but don’t know where to start, start with God.  Turn to Him.  Acknowledge that you are a sinner and repent of your sins.  Ask God to help you remove your sin.  Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to give you strength to stop sinning.  Ask Him to help you rebuild your life.  If you give Him first place in your heart, He will truly work all things out for your good.  He will redeem you and give you victory over your enemies.

My favorite part of today’s scripture is the last part of verse 6, “for the people worked with all their heart”.   They didn’t put some sorry, half hearted effort into this, they gave it their all.  They put God first.  They worked whole heartedly at doing what He had called them to do.  Oh, if only we could all work for the Lord with such zeal.  Well, we can with His help.  We can when we stay focused.

When we put God first and set about doing what He has called us to do, we will experience victory over our enemies.  My prayer for you today is that if you haven’t already rebuilt, that you start today.  What are you waiting for?

Have a great day!