September 8: Nehemiah 6:5-9
 
Key Verse: Nehemiah 6:8
I sent him this reply: ‘Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.’
 
Devotion:
The more you can recognise the opposition you will get when doing God’s work, the more you will be able to identify empty threats. I know I have faced many a threat in my lifetime and some of them are extremely upsetting at the time, but so many of them are in fact empty threats made by people who are becoming desperate in one way or another.
 
Our laws in the Western world are designed to protect us from threats, but many choose to use the words and bend them to their advantage and make you more worried about the threat they are imposing on you. It is these types of threats which are more likely to derail us in our work for God because they seem official at the time.
 
The more we focus on God, the more we may be able to stand up against these people because He will, through the Holy Spirit, allow us to discern the true from false threats we face. The key point is taking any threat directly to God first and not panicking about it... easier said than done I know! But believe me when I say it does work.
 
Far too often we are surprised when our prayers are answered by God especially when we find ourselves in awkward positions from which there seems no way out. We need to have more faith and realise the more we do put our faith in God the more we realise our faith is upheld by a faithful God. The more we realise this, the greater our faith becomes... but also be aware, the less you rely on God the more likely your faith is going to wane – but it really is all in our heads!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you take everything to God?
 
How much do you really rely on God?