“…I am doing a great work, so that
I cannot come down…”—Nehemiah 6:3
After Nehemiah head about the
desperate condition of the Jews who had returned from exile to Jerusalem, his
heart was burdened, “And they said to me,
‘The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in
great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and the
gates are burned with fire.’ So it was,
when I [Nehemiah] heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned for
many days: I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven” (Nehemiah 1:
3-4). God got Nehemiah’s attention
by hearing about the extremely difficult conditions of the Jews and then He
revealed His assignment to him.
(Read all of Nehemiah).
Although Nehemiah was not near
Jerusalem, and was a servant of the king he still felt the weightiness of the assignment. Some times the word “burden” is used to describe when an individual feels that God
wants her or him to do something. But,
if I use the term “weightiness” I
think it best describes the feelings that are often associated with an assignment by the Lord. When the assignment
is from the Lord, the “weightiness” is
like an even pressure distributed over your personage; however, if it is a
false “weightiness (burden) then it
is pressure only in one area. The enemy
uses this tactic to get us off course and to not complete our assignment.
Whenever God gives us an assignment He will open a door to
accomplish His will. In this case, the
Lord used Nehemiah’s sad expression and desperate prayer to prepare a pagan
king to send him on his assignment (Nehemiah
2:2).
How do you respond when you sense
that the Lord is calling you to a task that seems beyond your abilities? Do you list all the reasons why you can not
possibly do it? God already knows
everything about you and the situation.
He is not asking your permission to proceed; rather, He is calling you
to move forward with faith and obedience.
He did not make an error in choosing you for the assignment. God will equip
you for whatever He calls you to do.
Also, He always provides for the assignment. He does not send you out to fail and He will
provide people to help you complete the assignment.
Even though the enemy sends
distractions through objections as to why you cannot complete the assignment, do not fear; God is on your
side and determine not to: “come off the
wall”—be persistent to complete your
assignment, “He who calls you is
faithful, who also will do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
Prayer—Father
I ask You to shut the mouths of those who speak against me and those who have
come against the assignment that You have given to me, and I ask You to
strengthen me for the task to bring it to completion, in Jesus Name. Amen.
