Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, Come, let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief. I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I can't come down: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you? Nehemiah 6:2 WEB

Nehemiah was organizing the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem after it had been destroyed and the people carried away into exile. When he began, his enemies laughed at him, but then as the gaps in the wall started to close, they became much more serious. They plotted to kill him in order to stop the wall from being completed.

Nehemiah's enemies planned to invite him to a banquet and assassinate him so that all the people following him would stop the work that he had started. When they tried to lure Nehemiah into their trap, he simply replied "I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down." Then he continued on and they completed the wall while working with a trowel in one hand, and a sword in the other (Nehemiah 4:17).

Our enemy may start out using laughs, jeers, and gossip to attack us, but if we keep on with God's work, he will devise much sneakier traps and distractions for us that scale to our level. He has done this a long time, and he knows what works. Like someone inspecting a wall, he keeps searching for the small cracks to get in through, and once in, it is hard to get him back out.

The enemy's plan is to get you distracted, trip you, make you fall, to make your testimony worthless. To make the salt lose its flavor. To stop the work. To stop God from fulfilling His plan in your life. To steal, to kill, and destroy (John 10:10). When you are tempted, remember that you are doing a great work, and that you cannot come down.

Prayer: Heavenly Father please give me a clear vision and reveal the traps that the enemy has set for me. Help me to focus on the work at hand and not be distracted. Fulfill Your will in my life, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: Our weekly RHM Live church service will be happening this morning at 10am EST. Join us for a time of worship, interactive prayer, and fellowship, as well as an encouraging message. To participate in the chatroom you need to have a site account, but if not, you can still watch the video of the study. Service starts at 10am EST, but all are encouraged to show up 15 minutes early for fellowship, and to make sure the stream is working for you before we start. Here is the link to join: RHM Live

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