So, I sent messengers to them, saying, “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?” – (Nehemiah 6:3 NKJV)
After returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, Nehemiah immediately met with the harassment of Sanballat and several others. The root meaning of Sanballat means “satan.” satan will oppose us in anything we are called upon to do for God!
Sanballat continued to harass Nehemiah, even threatening to kill the people while they worked on the walls. But Nehemiah didn’t give up, and he didn’t allow the people to give up, either. He simply reorganized the people and had part of them work on the walls while the other part stood with weapons on the ground for protection.
Next the enemy tried spreading false religious claims: they said that a prophetess had told them that Nehemiah was there to set himself as king. The enemy did everything possible to get him to come down from the wall so they could harm him, but Nehemiah and his crews worked day and night and they completed the walls in a miraculous 52 days!
Nehemiah boldly says this, and I love it so much: “I am doing a great work. How can I come down?” It’s not hard to imagine those words coming out of Jesus’ mouth while He hung on the cross. And God also calls us to do a great work. How can we come down when satan besieges us, people falsely accuse us, and we are attacked again and again? We can’t! We must finish what God has called us to do.
Jesus, I declare that no matter what comes against me, I will keep my eyes on You, the author and finisher of my faith!
