The story of Nehemiah reminds us that recovery and renewal does not come without a fight

3 min read

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

If you have never read the book of Nehemiah, you should put it on your list. Especially if you are facing the daunting task of rebuilding something that has broken down – your life, your marriage, or maybe a program or an organization – the story of how God used Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem will be pure inspiration.

But it will also be a good heads-up on how to fight back in the face of spiritual attack, which is most of the time these days.

In Ephesians 6:11, Paul urges,

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

Notice that the devil doesn’t have just one scheme; he has schemes. He has a lot of different plays at his disposal and awareness of them will make us stronger and less vulnerable to defeat.

From Nehemiah’s story, let’s notice three of the most common moves used by the evil one:

1. DISTRACT. During the project of rebuilding the walls, two foes by the names of Sandballat and Tobiah sent an invitation to Nehemiah. They asked him to meet them offsite in “the plain of Ono” (6:2). They figured if they could lure him away from the task, maybe they could neutralize him.

That’s just like the enemy, isn’t it? He dangles distractions out in front of us to steal our focus. But it didn’t work against Nehemiah. Smelling a rat, he said “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?” (6:3). How about you? Are you letting the distractor ‘invite’ you away from the ‘great work’ that God has for you?

2. DECEIVE. Since the distraction tactic didn’t work, the enemy moved to the next one: deception. They fabricated lies and rumors in an attempt to intimidate Nehemiah into submission. They just started making stuff up to try to get in Nehemiah’s head. But Nehemiah saw right through it and called them out.

What makes this so hard is that the adversary is a good liar. The best, in fact. Jesus described the devil as a murderer and as “the father of lies” (John 8:44). How often do we buy into the bill of goods the deceiver is trying to sell us? How often do we let him get into our heads with his nonsense? Like Nehemiah, may the Lord help us to recognize and reject the lies of the evil one.

3. DEPLETE. Have failed with Scheme 1 and Scheme 2, the enemy’s third move was to simply wear Nehemiah’s defenses down and make him tired, really tired. They kept coming with the harassment – five consecutive times – but Nehemiah stood his ground every time.

If you feel like the enemy just keeps coming at you with the same old stuff, you’re not alone. He’s relentless that way. Just like he came to Jesus three times – when the Lord was already depleted from 40 days in the wilderness without food – so he comes at us over and again when we’re exhausted and feeling all alone in the world. But like Jesus, we too can be strong spiritually even when we are physically and emotionally spent. The Word of God is alive and it will always be our best comeback.

Keep up the good work

Just like Nehemiah, we also have a great work before us. However, the evil one won’t sit back and applaud us as we do it. Rather, he will fight us at every turn.

Now that we are wise to a few of his tactics, may the Lord help us to stand strong and steadfast. And may the good work continue for the glory of God.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.