God bless you in the awe-inspiring name of Jesus Christ, by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand as we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2).
When Nehemiah led God’s people back to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall they had outstanding success. It was not without difficulty and opposition, but it was amazing to all who looked upon it. Their triumph was due, as Nehemiah said, to the hand of God which was good upon him. Therefore, God’s people decided to rise up and build, and they strengthened their hands for this good work (Nehemiah 2:18). They not only strengthened their hands, but they focused their minds. Nehemiah 4:6 describes their victorious attitude as “having a mind to work.”
When we are about our Father’s business we, too, should have a mind to work. However, our work is simple. Jesus explained in John 6:29, that the work of God is to believe in the one He has sent. Satan will try to make our service to God seem self-serving. He’ll whisper, “Who do you think you are? or “What right do you have to expect God to do that?” His lies are directed at undermining our confidence and contaminating our minds with doubt, worry, and fear.
Just as Sanballat mocked God’s people in Nehemiah 4:2 as they worked to rebuild the wall, Satan mocks us as we rebuild our lives. We must not succumb to the accusations and distractions of our enemy. Let’s answer our accuser as Nehemiah did Sanballat (Nehemiah 6:3). “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” Let’s give him no place. Do not entertain any of his rumblings.
The first words Nehemiah declared to Sanballat set the stage for what was to come. He prophetically declared, “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no heritage or right or memorial in Jerusalem” (Nehemiah 2:20). Neither does our adversary have any right to deny us any of the grand provision of our God upon us.
God prospers us. Let’s rise up in the power of the Holy Spirit and build like a wise master builder. Let’s fortify our minds and hearts to finish the work God has called us to. Satan has no power over us and no right to afflict or torment us. Our deliverance is so complete that there is no residual remnant of his prior destruction. There will be no memorial left of his work in our lives.
Old areas of instability and ineffectiveness are recovered and reclaimed for God’s glory. As we build His words into our minds, wills, purposes and emotions we will be about our Father’s business. It is God Who is at work within us to will and to do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). That verse is true of us today and will be true of us every day we live for the rest of our lives. He declares that He works in us and allows us to be fellow laborers with Him.
God gets pleasure from taking what was once rubbish and broken-down areas of life and creating a life strong in the Spirit unto His glory. Ecclesiastes 3:3 says there is a time to break down and a time to build up. Let’s use the rest of our days to break down and remove any residual memory of failure and compromise from the past. God is at work in us. He has come to empower us and enable us to recover, restore, and reclaim every dimension of life that was stolen from us. Let’s rise up and build!