When the Naysayers Won't Quit: A Right Response

“Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?” Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.””

Nehemiah 4:1-5 NLT

http://bible.com/116/neh.4.1-5.nlt

Sandballot's taunts were not just against Nehemiah and the Jews working relentlessly on the work set before them by God, which in itself would be offensive to God, but He goes on to mock the way they Worship God. His mockery hits on a note of truth that reveals his heart. He says “…Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? …”
Nehemiah 4:2 NLT he recognizes that worship leads to God blessing the work being done by His worshipers. His mockery almost hints at heart of jealousy perhaps? Makes it sound as though it is absurd that God could quicken their work, and yet the place these people were in I think personally their worship was more focused on repentance and maybe asking for help towards this task, but I think mostly their worship was more about restoring relationship.
I love Nehemiah's response, he doesn't take this personally or retaliate and say something spiteful to them, he just lays the burden down in the throne room asking God to take care of these sinners. He sees its not his problem to deal with and just gives it to God.

Who are your naysayers? Are you taking the attacks personally? 

Are you worshipping the answerer of your problems? Or are you dwelling on them?

Touch the Sky by Hillsong United has been my enterance to the throne room today, what's yours?

When the Naysayers Won't Quit: Start With Prayer

As I look back to my last post, I find it interesting that even though I haven't been posting all along (too much life lately) I've still been on that same path. I'm still working on developing consistency with resolution 1, but I've been really working on developing a habit of prayer. This has been inspired by my Study of Nehemiah. I've decided to share it with you here in hopes that you may be encouraged as well.

This will all make a lot more sense if you jump over and read Nehemiah 1 real quick.

Here's my version:

After Babylon came in and took the Israelites captive, Nehemiah found himself as cupbearer to the king. There were some travelers from Judah that came through. Nehemiah couldn't help but ask about home. He was devastated to hear what was left. He was remorseful for the sins of His people and He pleaded with God through fasting and prayer to remember His people and to restore the nation of the Lord, recalling the promise of the Lord. 

Nehemiah knew what he had to do after all this fasting and prayer. It was nuts! He was a servant to the king. But God gave him a plan. Devine strategy… He had to ask the king something. He knew if he was going to be successful, God had to go before him. God had to move on the heart of the king. All of this knowing came from his time allowing God to console his brokenness. He fasted, knowing only God could satisfy his broken heart. He prayed, pleading with God to hear this prayer. "Give me peace, give me hope, show me what I can do to bring about restoration of YOUR people” I'm sure he prayed. 

This is how I can learn from Nehemiah today!

God gave us emotions. He allows us to experience these, because they drive us to action. 

Brokenness, helplessness, neediness, these things force us to the throne of God where we can find true peace. That peace often comes from an action plan, knowing where to go from this point. But sometimes we have to let those emotions swell in and take over so that we can freely give them to the Lord instead of stuffing them under a rug.

Tuesday was not a great day. I got some bad news from work and I was emotional! I went on a 6 mile walk with my husband, hoping that if I got tired enough, I wouldn't be so upset. And it worked! Kinda... it felt fake because those emotions are still peaking out from the rug every so often asking me what I'm going to do with the budget being so short two months in a row. How can I continue to make plans for the future? Why am I calm… I shouldn't be calm in this situation. I don't have a devine strategy. I don't know what I'm going to do. I have an idea, but I don't know how to make it work. But I never really let those emotions in. I never surrendered them to God in devastation with faith only knowing ONLY He can truly fix it. I just stuffed my feelings under the rug and said with a fake smile, it's ok, God will fix it… But I never really told him the problem or asked him to fix it.

What are you stuffing under the rug? Maybe it's time to find some real genuine peace!

Resolved

Granted at this time of year this could be misinterpreted to mean I've got new years resolutions, sure, we covered that. More importantly I'm concerned with life resolutions. I've been inspired by Jonathan Edwards as of late. Especially as I consider being more disciplined in life. How can I strive to be more disciplined without stating goals towards which I strive to be more disciplined in. My resolutions. The trouble is after digesting his "Resolutions" and "Advice to Young Converts" I'm overwhelmed at where to start being resolved. I want these resolutions to be timeless. I intend to follow in the footsteps of Edwards and review these resolutions on a weekly basis.

1. I resolve to make every effort to say "yes" whenever God makes clear to me a request no matter how strange or uncomfortable it makes me. (Jan. 12, 2015)

Discipline required to be a disciple

Yesterday I was listening to some sermons on my drive to clarkston by John MacArther. I had some thoughts along this line. To come and follow Jesus you are choosing to be a disciple. But to be a disciple you must have discipline in some specific area. It got me thinking about how discipline is a character trait and very counter-cultural. As I began to look introspectively... I don't see much discipline in my life and I can't honestly define myself as a disciplined person. So as I've considered this and prayed about it, I believe my word for this year is discipline and I'm going to choose to change how I identify myself by the grace of God. I know it's a big undertaking but I have an action plan. I'm going to study men and women who are characterized by discipline. I'm going to start in small things that feel possible like flossing regularly and reach toward training my body and mind progressing in fasting exercise and my studies over the course of this year and above all else pursue to be disciplined in spending regular time in the lap of my Father and seek to become disciplined in saying yes to what he asks of me. 

So blessed

I'm overwhelmed by the blessings of the Lord! Today John and I had our marriage interview and honestly it couldn't have gone better. Then we spent an hour or so shopping. When we got home we worked on cooking and cleaning together. It was the essence of partnership.  I just feel so at peace and so comfortable in our relationship. I'm unbelievably thankful that Johns green card is on its way and that stall of time we've been stuck in for months with immigration is finally over and we can move on with the joy of being newly weds! 

Does God think you stink?

I believe God is perfect and cannot be near sin. Sin when we develop the habit of saying "no" to God which is essentially all sin is. When allow sin to make a home in our lives we keep his presence at a distance. We have a malodorous essence to God; we stink. But when we say "yes" we allow him to come closer and we begin to have a sweet aroma to the Lord. When we say yes to intimacy, yes to the random nudges of the spirit, yes to simple obedience, his presence begins to dwell more richly. Do you hunger and thirst to have the Spirit dwell so richly in you that like Charles Finney that the masses are moved to repentance simply by being near you? It seems to me it starts by letting God have his way with you in the simple things so that His Spirit doesn't find you "stinky" but is able to settle at home within you!

A time to pray

I found myself today realizing all the battles I've been struggling, not enough money, not enough time, not enough energy, etc. Have all significantly lessened as my husband has been able to help lighten these burdens for me. Having authorization to work in America obviously helps significantly. And I find myself at ease as he job hunts having full assurance that God is in control and he will have the right job soon. And so I find myself praying less the last few days because I'm not feeling so desperate or spent. Rather then fall into a pit of complacency I feel called to pursue God with a relentless passion. So then I was wandering in the book store for over an hour trying to decide how to purse God relentlessly when I have to driving problem pushing me. All the books seem to be focused on how to be pushed toward God. So I asked for help. Awkwardly. She gave me the book "Hearing God's Voice" by Henry and Richard Blackaby, which I have yet to start. I also walked away with  "21 Most Effective Prayers of the Bible," which is a journal/book. I started that today, more about that later, but it's good so far. My thought there is that I have weakened in prayer in the last few years as I've struggled through understanding what prayer is supposed to look like after having some decidedly unbiblical examples of prayer in my life. Then I thought about fasting, then blew it off. Then thought about it again, then ignored the thought. Finally I thought I'll talk to my husband about it and he'll say no. Well I talked to him about it and he said it sounded like a good idea. So now we're gearing up to Daniel fast start tomorrow. Ironically (God's never really ironic) church tonight was the pastor calling us to a fast. So all in all it's time to grow. It's time to become relentless. It's time to desire God and pursue holiness.

So Day 1 of this prayer journey is about Abraham's servants prayer as he searched for a wife for Isaac. His prayer: Make me successful today. So where do I need to apply this prayer today? I think towards the fast God is clearly calling me to. I struggle to finish fasts strong. I often make excuses and cut it short or change it to make it easier. I know there are great challenges to finishing this fast strong. Doing a Daniel fast while living in a hotel will be difficult, but today I pray, God make me successful.

On a final note, I'm giving up TV and movies while we fast and with that time I'm intending to pick the guitar back up and work on the sermon series God has been leading me towards preparing for the day when I am leading in ministry.

So I guess those are new years resolutions. It wasn't really my intention to make any but I guess it's kinda what they are. I'm excited about all this year holds. I'm excited to see what God is going to do in our lives!!