Neh 4:2

"And in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble - burned as they are?" Neh 4:2

There it was, public humiliation. The Jews were no builders. They had been captive in Babylon - but they lived lives of relative ease. Now they come to a destroyed city, scraped together a few stones for a house, but they had no experience in rebuilding a city. The Jews had two choices, step up and finish the task or buckle under the pressure and give up. Some chose the latter option.

Judah cried out in agreement (sound familiar? "Let's go back to Egypt. At least we had food on the table - not this manna!") Fortunately, Nehemiah was a good and faithful leader who saw things as they were meant to be - rebuilt! He called the people to ignore the insults and keep on building. We've all faced discouragement. Perhaps we face it today.

We have two choices. Step up or give up. The latter brings defeat and death. The former brings victory and life. When the enemy shouts insults at us, we need to do as Nehemiah did. First, he set guards. Second, he armed the people. Third, he kept building. We need to guard against the enemy's attacks. We need to always be alert to his presence and tactics. If he gets too close, we need to take up the sword - the Word of God. Satan cannot take continual strikes from the Sword of the Spirit - it penetrated too deeply into his weaknesses.

Finally, we need to keep on keeping on doing the will of God. Sure, there are times when it seems like nothing happens and we're getting no where. But if we keep trying, God will bring the results. He will support our sagging spirits. He will be our encouragement and our strength. The next thing you know, the walls of God's protection will be around us and the gates of His splendor will be our protection from the enemy and victory will be secure! Hallelujah, Amen and Amen.