Ever notice how there are some things you deal with on a daily basis, and most of the time with good humor, that eventually wear on you till all humor for it is gone and all that remains is tolerance? Not necessarily anger, just tired tolerance of something you simply feel ‘done’ with.
I think all of us have been there before. I certainly know I have. The real problem is when it comes in to attempt to destroy your progress in something.
A lot of things come to test our resolve. Our resolve to keep building, keep going, and keep our integrity. One of our biggest temptations when we feel ‘done’ with something is to blow up way beyond what we normally would do. The explosion hurts our relationships and eventually makes us abashed at our behavior. Think that is by chance?
Nope it is a carefully aimed attack.
If the enemy can not simply take you out, he will attempt to discredit you and bring shame on God’s work.
10 Now when I went into the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home, he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple. Let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you. They are coming to kill you by night.” 11 But I said, “Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” 12 And I understood and saw that God had not sent him, but he had pronounced the prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin, and so they could give me a bad name in order to taunt me. 14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.
If you ever think it better to trust your “friends” than in the often illogical commands of God during your rebuilding, think again. Many times voices from the inside are the ones pressing the hardest to discredit the work of God in our lives.
We’ve all heard those voices take many different forms of “advice” that sound attractive, but you know deep down it is bad advice.
If the enemy can scare, intimidate, or entice you to fall he can discredit the work you are doing. Builders can not afford to lose focus of God, because if they give way to human fear the rebuilding of their lives around Christ can be tainted, easily taunted for its failures, and slow in recovering.
Sure it will probably happen from time to time, Nehemiah is a good example of how we should respond, not an indication that we can respond that way every time. Nehemiah stands as a strong reminder that when voices from your “inner circle” start giving advice that sounds wrong in your spirit, often they are the enemies hired hands. Stand strong and courageous and remind them, and the enemy, of God’s promises. In God’s promise there is no room for fear.
In the process of bringing our family together we have faced times when voices from the inside have tried to discourage and derail. Opportunities have come to lash out and act out. Some how God was awesome enough to protect us from our own stupid and help us have patience. Eventually we saw it was tempting to lash out in this manner because of our own fears. After a while we learned to look fear in the face and wait for God to get His glory again.
Even smile form time to time….
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