Maintain Your Position
Let us take a brief snapshot from the story regarding Nehemiah who rebuilt the walls in Jerusalem following the exile of the Jews. Nehemiah had learnt that there was a remnant of Jews who had escaped the exile but were in trouble and distress because the walls were torn down. (Nehemiah 1) Nehemiah gains the favour of the King who he served as a cupbearer. The King allowed Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and also provided the equipment which he needed to do this work.
Nehemiah gathered the people and the work progresses successfully until he encountered opposition. In chapter 4, Sanballat and Tobiah were angry that the work progressed and hurled insults at Nehemiah and the Jews. Nehemiah’s response was to pray and carry on building and the work progressed.
Again in chapter 6, when Sanballat and Tobiah heard that Nehemiah had completed the wall, they continue to conspire. This time they sent messengers 4 times to call Nehemiah to meet, but their intention was to harm him. Nehemiah saw through their conspiracy and response was, “I cannot come down because I am doing a great work.”
When the first plot didn’t work, they wrote letters spreading lies and gossip about Nehemiah saying that he wanted to be King. They even sent false prophets to convince Nehemiah to run to the house of God to hide because they wanted to kill him. On every occasion, Nehemiah saw through the conspiracies and recognised them as schemes to distract him from the work. He maintained his focus and completed the work of rebuilding the wall, restoring the gates and the doors. (Nehemiah 6)
We can learn a lot from this story about Nehemiah. (1) Stay focused on what God has assigned you to do and complete the work. (2) Do not entertain every argument or engage in every fight. (3) Not every “Prophet” or “prophetic word” is sent by God. (4) When God has asked you to do something great, expect opposition and persecution to come. (5) Stay in prayer, remain steadfast in your conviction and God will give you the strength to complete what you have started.
A.P.-Y.
Published by Anneta Pinto-Young
I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession.
Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm.
I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing.
I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages.
View all posts by Anneta Pinto-Young
Published
December 29, 2020
