But Now, O God, Strengthen My Hands!
READ TEXT: Nehemiah 6
Sunday was the 8th sermon in our “{RE}BUILD, The Story of Nehemiah” series. Earlier in the series we talked about resisting the enemy by 1) rejecting his lies, remaining rooted in prayer, refocusing on Jesus, encouraging one another, and by maintaining a warring posture. This week we picked up on this same theme of resisting the enemy. From Nehemiah 6 we were encouraged to walk fearlessly in the face of the enemy’s attack. Nehemiah indicates through his prayer in verse 9 that we do this by the strength of God.
In chapter 6 we see the enemies of God use various tactics to try to kill Nehemiah and prevent the work on the wall from being completed. From this chapter we discover ways our enemy, Satan, comes against us as we seek to glorify our King in the work of building His Kingdom. It’s important to know how the enemy works for two reasons: 1) so we can recognize his attacks on us, and 2) so we can recognize when he is seeking to use us to disrupt what God is doing.
We learned that THE ENEMY WILL TRY TO DRAW YOU AWAY. Using our pride he’ll seek to draw you away from the rest of God’s people and he’ll try to draw you away fromm the work God has given you to do. Both the people of God and the work of God provide protection for you. The enemy knows when you step back you become vulnerable, which is exactly where he wants you.
We learned that THE ENEMY WILL TRY TO DESTROY YOUR CHARACTER. Often the enemy, using a messenger, will seek to slander your name. In the Church this typically happens when you’ve abandoned your responsibility to go to the person you have issue with and instead choose to talk about them with others. (Matthew 18:15-20)
We learned that THE ENEMY WILL TRY TO SHIFT YOUR ATTENTION. In the church this begins with a little criticism here, a little slander there, a friend leaving the church poorly… now your focus is off of King Jesus and the work of His kingdom and on what other people say, think, or do.
We learned that THE ENEMY WILL TRY TO CAUSE SPIRITUAL COMPROMISE. Satan is at work trying to stir up your flesh so that you embrace sin, neglect prayer and the Word, establish new idols, or skip out on gathering with the body for inconsequential reasons.
The enemy is always at work tempting you to despair, be frustrated, stop working, be fearful, take matters into our own hands, or sacrifice what is right. You must join Nehemiah in praying daily: “But now, O God, strengthen my hands!”
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Why do you think it’s easier to withdraw from community when things get hard?
In what ways have you seen the enemy try to shift your attention from Jesus and His mission
How have you seen the enemy work to cause spiritual compromise? In you? Within the Body?
PRAYER FOCUS
Take time to prayerfully examine your heart and life. Are there ways the enemy has a foothold? Take time to pray that God would strengthen your hands.
SCRIPTURE MEMORY — Nehemiah 6:9
