Spending Your Time Well - Nehemiah 6

When Sanballat and Tobiah heard that the wall was almost rebuilt they turned their attention to intimidating Nehemiah.  Four times they asked Nehemiah to meet them in a village 30 km away, planning to harm him (vs 1-4).   Nehemiah refused to leave the work knowing it was a distraction.  Then they sent an open letter falsely accusing him of plotting a revolt (vs 5-7).   Nehemiah discerned their motives and prayed for strength (vs 8-9).  He chose to give the problem back to God and continue with the work rather than be side tracked into defending his reputation against their libellous claims.  On another occasion he was asked to hide in the temple by a hired man and then others tried to intimidate him (vs 10-19).   But after only 52 days, the wall was completed and the enemies were afraid and lost self-confidence because they realised that this work had been done with the help of God (vs 15-16).

Fulfilling God's purposes will inevitably result in personal attacks from Satan that are aimed at wearing us out and causing discouragement.   We must keep our focus on God and ensure that the work continues.  We must allow God to defend us and our reputation. To do so, we need to know what God has called us to.