"What Has God Said?"

Then I said to them, “You see the problem that we have: Jerusalem is desolate and its gates are burned. Come on! Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that this reproach will not continue.” Then I related to them how the good hand of my God was on me and what the king had said to me. Then they replied, “Let’s begin rebuilding right away!” So they readied themselves for this good project. But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard all this, they derided us and expressed contempt toward us. They said, “What is this you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:17-19)

Ah, it’s all too familiar. God burdens us to pray about a particular issue, His Spirit reveals to us a plan of action, we move forward in obedience… and we are criticized. As the book of Nehemiah progresses, we learn that Sanballat and Tobias were intentional and aggressive in their attempts to prevent the Jerusalem gates and walls from being rebuilt. How did Nehemiah respond? With simple, unassuming persistence. He did not give in to the lies, threats, and negative comments of his critics, but instead persuaded his workers to stay focused and complete the task they’d begun.

Nehemiah’s persistence was grounded in a realization that God had spoken to him clearly and specifically. We would do well to follow Nehemiah’s example. The prayers, intercessions, and fastings brought an awesome result: the intercessor is the one who will move to answer the prayers. We see this modeled in Scripture in the lives of our Lord Jesus, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Elijah, and others. Each moved forward in obedience to God, each had their critics, and each was integral in God's plan of deliverance for His people through the ages. We are in good company.

Has God spoken? Then act on His word, without fear. He will give you strength to bring the good work into completion.