Nehemiah 4:1But it so happened, when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, that he was furious and very indignant, and mocked the Jews.

I’ve seen it repeated many times. A boy or girl will build some something, a tower of cards, a snowman, whatever. And they know that once it starts taking shape, once it begins to get impressive, they have the dual job of building and protecting. Some other kid may well come along to kick it over or knock it down.

Nehemiah had a vision of a repaired and renewed Jerusalem. It had been sacked 70 years prior. He was given royal permission to go and rebuild the walls. But he wasn’t an engineer, nor did he have a professional crew. It was just the people. But they began the work and the walls were going up. Then Sanballat showed up. He did his best to stop all progress.

Whenever we attempt something for the Lord, we should be aware that not everyone will be happy. We might readily agree that God exists, but we need to accept that His enemy does too. He is not God’s equal in any way, but he’s more than a match for us! He hates God and he will do his best to disrupt God’s plans. He can’t directly assail God so he works on those that love God.

You might be attempting to ‘build’ a life for God. He wants to kick it down. Maybe you’re ‘building’ a Christian marriage. He definitely doesn’t want that to stand. You could be attempting to ‘build’ a habit of regular Bible reading and church attendance. He thrills to knock those over.

Don’t get me wrong. Not everything bad that happens in the world is a result of demonic influence. But more is than most people assume. But we needn’t lose heart. Remember the words of the Apostle John -

               “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!”

Blessings,

Pastor Russ