Devotional Nehemiah 6: Discernment, Opposition, and Faith Devotional reflection on Nehemiah 6:1-9, discussing how to overcome enemy defamation and distractions, and the importance of praying for strength during tribulation. Topics: Devotional, Old Testament.

Devotional Nehemiah 6: Discernment, Opposition, and Faith

My devotional today was on chapter 6, verses 1–9, of the book of Nehemiah, which was the basis for the biblical message of the Sunday service two weeks ago. This is what happened.

Synopsis: Recapping what happened before this chapter, the Jews under Nehemiah’s leadership continued with the construction of the wall of Jerusalem. When the enemies (Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem, Samaritans, etc.) learned that they were about to finish the reconstruction of the wall—they had already completed the wall itself and only the gates remained—they decided, once again, to use tactics to stop them (i.e., intimidation, defamation, etc.). But Nehemiah perceived their intentions, did not fall for their tactics, and prayed to God to strengthen his hands.

Observations

These were my observations:

1. When we are about to do God’s will, the enemy always tries to stop us. Sanballat, Geshem, and the enemies of Israel tried to convince Nehemiah to leave the work to meet with them. But Nehemiah had the spiritual discernment to realize that what they really wanted was to harm him and stop the construction. Many times, during our walk toward holiness, we must have spiritual discernment to know whether what we are asked to do (be it by authorities, friends, or relatives) is good in the eyes of God. Furthermore, we will frequently find that the precise moment we are about to finish and do God’s will is when we will face the most tribulations, and we must persevere.
2. We must never stop doing God’s will to do the will of others. In verse 3, Nehemiah answers the letters from Sanballat and Geshem as follows: “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?’” Nehemiah gave them this answer 4 times because he knew that he should never leave the work and stop doing God’s will to accommodate them. That was exactly what they wanted. This request of theirs may seem harmless, and it is what also happens today. For example, skipping church at 11 a.m. because you prioritize going out with friends and going to the beach. Small things like these are enough to distract us from doing God’s will and draw us away from Him. We must be vigilant regarding this so that we do not fall into these traps.
3. The enemy will defame your name as one of their last resorts. When the enemy realizes that you are focused and that basic tactics do not work on you, the next step is character assassination in the eyes of the public, thereby intimidating and terrifying you until you stop. This is what Sanballat and Geshem did with their last letter, which was unsealed so that everyone could read it, writing the following: “It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.” They used this tactic to frighten Nehemiah’s companions and strip away his support, as nobody wants trouble with the king. Nowadays, with cancel culture through defamation, it is the most frequent tactic used to silence all those who attempt to do the will of God. Therefore, we must be prepared to face opposition when we are faithfully following God. For it will surely come, and the only thing we must ask ourselves is whether we are willing to defend our faith and press forward even if it costs us our lives (i.e., the case of Charlie Kirk).
4. Pray to God to strengthen our hands during tribulation. Nehemiah, knowing that they wanted to intimidate them, prayed to God so that even with all the forces of evil conspiring against him to prevent him from fulfilling his purpose, he could persevere, convicted in his faith.