It’s Wednesday, and time for your midweek daily devotional. Some people say unkind things. Their words may be packed with envy or hatred. However, as a believer, you’re to remember they’re just words, and that God’s word is true. In today’s daily devotional, when someone has something evil to say, stand on God’s word. He has the final say.
Don’t Give Place to the Devil
In Nehemiah 2:19, Sanballet, Tobiah, and Geshem scornfully accuse Nehemiah: “What is this thing that ye do? Will ye rebel against the king?” The enemy wants to make you accountable to him for your actions. If he can make you think you must justify your movements to him or his underlings, he will use it against you. He wants to make you feel like you’re failing, obligated, or guilty.
They accuse Nehemiah of rebelling against the king who gave him full authority. Notice the enemy will not only be loud and proud, but also strong and wrong. In your daily devotional, like Nehemiah, don’t give place to the devil by changing your plans.
Nehemiah Answers His Enemies
In verse 20, Nehemiah answers his enemies. Ecclesiastes 3:7 says that “there is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” This was a time for Nehemiah to boldly speak by answering assuredly. He declared, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” Nehemiah was quick to let his enemies know their words could not discourage them, and that God’s work would be done despite their opposition.
He went on to verify that they had no stake or claim in Jerusalem. In other words, they were outsiders who had no inheritance, unlike the children of God. In this daily devotional, you may have to answer your enemies who don’t operate from God’s Kingdom, but from the enemy’s wicked one.
The Work Was Progressing
In Nehemiah 3:1, the high priest Eliashib and his fellow priests began to repair a section of the wall. Also, men from Jericho repaired a section, and each section was assigned to a group of workers, including the Nethinims or temple staff who assisted the Levites. The work was progressing well, and the wall and gates were being repaired expeditiously. God was pleased, but Sanballat and his cronies were displeased.
Therefore, they began to mock again. They questioned whether the Jews could rebuild the wall of Jerusalem from heaps of rubbish. Tobiah joked that the wall would topple if a fox walked on it. In today’s daily devotional, your enemy has jokes, but God hears their laughter, and He will vindicate the righteous.
Nehemiah Began to Pray
Instead of feeling deflated, Nehemiah began to pray: “Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity.” Nehemiah continues by praying that their sins not be covered or blotted out, for they had provoked God’s wrath. In your daily devotional, as New Testament believers, rather than praying for your enemy’s punishment, pray for their forgiveness and salvation. Then leave them in God’s hands.
You Must Have a Mind to Work
In Wednesday’s daily devotional, the wall was rebuilt successfully. In 4:6, Nehemiah says, “So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” In today’s daily devotional, Nehemiah and his comrades didn’t stop because of the enemy, and neither should you.
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