September 7: Nehemiah 6:1-4
 
Key Verse: Nehemiah 6:4
Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.
 
Devotion:
The more you work for God, the more you can expect to have opposition along the way. The closer you get to your goals in God’s work, the harder the evil one pushes against your work to make you stumble. The evil one knows he has lost the war, but that is not going to stop him from trying to win every little battle along the way – just in case!
 
I continue to thank God each time I come up against opposition because I know I am on the right path... Don’t get me wrong, getting opposition from God’s people is not what I am referring to here, but the people who don’t want to lose their own power.
 
I hope I will always be wise enough to defer decisions and power to God alone and not to try and work things out for my own glory. This is not a fight we fight to gain glory for ourselves, but a battle we have to which gives all the glory to God our Father. Like Nehemiah I wish more people in positions of power would bow to the wisdom of God instead of building up their own positions.
 
Sanballat and Geshem continued to try and get Nehemiah to back off, to stop the constant working for God’s glory just so they could gain a bit more glory and a few more followers. We need to constantly work towards the goals which will give glory to our King, Jesus Christ, and always work against the opposition which is going to rise up time and time again.
 
The opposition may well be invitations to parties or celebrations which, on the surface, look like they are nothing more than good fun. If they do not come from God and are not in support of your work for God, then you should avoid them! Always keep your eyes on God and His work!
 
Points to Ponder:
Do you keep working with God?
 
Where are your eyes focused?