Today’s post is #200 for this site, launched by me in November 2007. Though the domain name is now ten years old, Word Journey has covered Christian subject matter only since the time I took it over and changed its purpose. This website would be NOTHING without God’s guidance: all praise and honor are due to the Lord!

I also thank you, my dear readers, for following this site.  There is a small audience of regular followers and a whole bunch of people who happen upon this site when a particular article or topic catches their fancy in the search engine results pages. In any case, your visits are appreciated as are your comments.

I didn’t have anything special planned for this milestone post, but it certainly appears that God has something in store.

Are there stone walls in your life needing to be rebuilt?

Last night, I was reading the fourth chapter of my “Be Determined” Bible study of Nehemiah, a book written by Bible teacher Warren W. Wiersbe.  Corresponding with Nehemiah chapter 4, Wiersbe talked about the spiritual warfare the Jews of that time were experiencing. Their enemies certainly did not want to see the wall of Jerusalem built and did everything in their power to dissuade God’s people.

Sanballat a Horonite and Tobiah an Ammonite were among the leaders of the peoples occupying the land surrounding Jerusalem.  The city of David had been sacked, the temple destroyed, the walls surrounding the city had been burned and knocked down. Jerusalem was just a shell of its self.

But, some of God’s people were living there and Nehemiah, who was the cupbearer for the Persian king, Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 2:1), was burdened for his people. So much so that he prayed and fasted for months before requesting a leave of absence from his position in order to help the people rebuild.

Once on site, Nehemiah was faced with an extraordinary challenge: how to rebuild the wall with fire damaged material and how to keep God’s people motivated. Of course, Nehemiah did not rely upon human methods to galvanize the troops. He invoked the name of the Most High God to help the Jews.

Nehemiah 4 presents a powerful picture of spiritual warfare, beginning with the very first verse:

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews….

It would have been one thing had Sanballat only been mad, but he resorted to ridicule in a bid to stop the work of God’s people.

Ridicule should be recognized for what it is: an attack by the enemy. Wiersbe noted that God’s people can hold up under physical assault, but it is often the words of opposition uttered that stop us. How many of us have backed off in the face of criticism? Admittedly, there have been times I have done the same.

The ridicule uttered including the usual name-calling, including “feeble Jews” and mocking their efforts with Tobiah saying in Nehemiah 4:3, “What they are building–if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!” Ouch! True, even.

But Nehemiah would hear none of it. Instead of returning their volley he implored God, beginning in Nehemiah 4:4, for divine help.

Nehemiah 4:6 is where this chapter hangs and is the reason why I chose my title, “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.”

That’s it. They were subjected to the attacks of their enemies, took the matter to God and immediately returned to work. And that is how we should respond: we should leave the problem in God’s care and get back to work.

Of course, following their response, the attacks were mounted once again. And again the people cried out to the Lord. They also prepared themselves for battle and kept their ears perked for the sound of the trumpet. If the trumpet had blasted, they would have had to lay down their tools to take up their weapons. In any case, they were always at the ready for battle!

My, this sounds like something we should be doing today: reading God’s word, sharing the gospel message and doing the work of the Lord.

If we’re not facing opposition, could it be that our work isn’t for the Lord? Or perhaps our work has gotten so muddled over time no one can figure out the reasons why we’re doing it any longer.

One more thing for me to add before you head off and read Nehemiah yourself: oftentimes the opposition the Jews faced came from within. That’s right, some of their own people were compromisers and did what they could to stop the work, allowing fear to control the situation. Sadly, that reflects the way much of the church operates today.

We need to be of one mind when we set out to do the work of the Lord and be determined to accomplish what He has called us to do. Otherwise, the withering attacks of the enemy will keep us from our work, turning a sure victory into certain defeat.

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“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

I have been inspired to write this post after reading, “False Guilt and the Sympathy Card,” written by Christopher S. Esty. In his article, Esty explained in detail one of the tricks of the evil one which is to render your work ineffective, particularly when it comes to calling out sin.

Finding the article turned out to be providential as it served to remind me that spiritual warfare is intensifying as we near the return of Jesus Christ. I won’t repeat what Esty wrote, but I will share six schemes used by satan to thwart the Christian.

1. Tolerance – Similar to what Etsy shared, there is a strong movement in the world today which says that we are to be tolerant of others. In effect, if you criticize or express an opinion opposite of what others are saying, you’re considered intolerant or worse. Look closer and you will see that those who espouse this viewpoint are often the most intolerant of all: they would reject the prostitute, sexually deviant, murderer, thief or other sinner if that person’s sin came to their attention. “…and such were some of you.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

2. Fellowship – Our time with God is very important. Through prayer and Bible reading we speak to God and He speaks to us. But God hasn’t left us alone in this world. Importantly, He has given us brothers and sisters, people who are on the same journey as we are. Satan loves to divide believers and he’ll often erect some of the stupidest barriers to keep us from fellowshipping with each other. Sadly, we often fall for these schemes. (I John 1:7)

3. Fatigue – Our bodies need rest, something God permitted to help keep our pride in check. Yes, physical replenishment is the obvious thing here, but needing rest requires us to lay down our pride. How so? By realizing that we can’t and shouldn’t do everything by ourselves. Fatigue can come from illness, diet and overwork; the latter can be quickly remedied by allowing God to work through others to help you accomplish what needs to get done for Him. (Matthew 11:28)

4. Knowledge – I enjoy acquiring knowledge though I am in agreement with “…knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” Some believers are adverse to learning new things, considering knowledge to be the exclusive realm of the devil or this world. This thinking is wrong. Even Daniel and his friends learned the Babylonian system (see Daniel 10 and were “…trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.” Most definitely, Christians need to be rooted and grounded in God’s word first before learning the world’s nonsense. Okay, not everything is nonsense but as Paul put into perspective in Philippians 3:8, “…everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

5. Love – Satan frequently reminds of us of our sins and tells us that God doesn’t love us. This argument should be obviously false to us, but we often find ourselves laden down with guilt and shame. God’s Bible is a Love Story, demonstrating to what great lengths He has gone and will be going to redeem fallen man to Himself. Once we confess our sins, we need to stand on that forgiveness. In fact, God will forgive and purify you from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

6. Pathways – Recently, I was watching cable news and the person interviewed was a bishop of influence, someone whose name would be recognized by the religious community. I am not sure how the question came up, but when asked if Jesus was the only way to heaven, he first skirted the question then answered emphatically, no. Liar! Jesus is the way…. (John 14:6)

These are only a handful of schemes the nefarious one uses to stumble, confuse or otherwise render the Christian impotent. Your personal awareness of these devices can help you become much more effective in your walk, waging war against principalities by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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