They were trying to intimidate us into quitting. They thought, “They’ll give up; they’ll never finish it.” I prayed, “Give me strength.” Nehemiah 6:9 (MSG)
When people come against you, it can cause you to become weary. Today, there are a lot of people who will ridicule, intimidate and lie about others to serve their own vindictive agenda. This is nothing new—evil opponents did the same thing to Nehemiah in his day, too. As he organized the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, people from surrounding nations openly mocked him, plotted ways to discredit him and even conspired to assassinate him and destroy the builders’ work.
But Nehemiah didn’t give up or lose heart. Instead of letting their words or plans get the best of him, he prayed for the Lord’s help and strength while he established an emergency warning system and coordinated security patrols. He relied on God’s wisdom and protection—and kept on going.
In fact, today’s verse says Nehemiah “continued the work with even greater determination”! As a result, the Jews completed their work in fifty-two days, and when the surrounding enemy nations heard about it, “they were frightened and humiliated” (v. 15–16).
The strength of God’s presence within you is more powerful than anything or anyone who tries to take you out. Whenever weariness pushes at you, follow Nehemiah’s example: pray and stay in God’s Word. The more you do, the more you’ll feel an inner strengthening to overcome and conquer whatever comes your way.
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