Friday, June 10, 2011

Refuse to be Deterred

Nehemiah 6:2c-3
But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”

Did you know that when you are on task to do what God has designated for you, the enemy is unhappy? God had laid a very serious desire upon Nehemiah's heart to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after the exile. Nehemiah had even received support from unexpected places to do so. But as he was very much on task, so were his enemies. See, the enemy can come in many different shapes and forms. For Nehemiah, the enemy came in the form of Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem who were very unhappy with his progress. So their plan was to distract Nehemiah so the work would not be completed. Yes, the old smoke and mirrors trick. But God had given Nehemiah a discerning spirit. One where he was able to see that these men meant him harm. So his response, though sharp, was to let them know, he was not moved by their "so called" sincerity.

Now what does this story have to do with us? If God has laid something on your heart to do, then it is indeed a necessity that it be completed. But know this, the enemy NEVER likes it when God's plan are being carried out. So like Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem, the enemy of our souls will use anyone or anything as an attempt to provide a distraction. It's up to us to seek God's discerning spirit to correctly see through insincerity. Sometimes the enemy may attempt to use our weaknesses against us. What carrot has the enemy tempted you with in the past to get you off God's plan for you? We must be aware of it so when it appears, we can identify it and simply refuse to be deterred. Just because the invitations by the enemy arise, doesn't mean we have to accept them. The invitations are our test to see where our heart really is.


P.S. I'm extremely humbled and excited to be the keynote speaker for Celebration Church's Debs In Christ Debutante Ball this Sunday in Columbia, MD. What an honor to speak to such wonderful young ladies! Also, please be sure to tune in on Father's Day, Sunday, June 19th at 8:45am as I will be interviewed live by Stubbs on www.leapoffaithshow.com. Callers are welcome and we will be giving away one free autographed copy of Get Your JOY In The Morning!

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