There is a time and place for all things just and right before God. There was a time when the prophet Nehemiah was to remain on the top of a wall and not come down from his work just because someone else had a different opinion, differed with him, or in this case - sought his demise. Perhaps there has been a time in your life when you needed to ‘remain on the wall’ and be faithful to what you felt God was leading you to do while others were trying their best to bring you down.

You see, Satan is forever attempting to bring us down from the wall of faith, of righteousness, of service unto God. Perhaps we need to remember the faithfulness of Nehemiah to give us encouragement and strength to continue in God’s service amid all of the turmoil, falling away, and strife that we encounter in life.

The prophet Nehemiah felt led by the Lord to rebuild the wall about the city of Jerusalem. The enemies of the Lord’s people tried their best to get him to cease his work, come down from the wall, and abandon his commitment in doing what Nehemiah felt was pleasing to the Lord. Nehemiah 2:18 finds Nehemiah saying, “Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.” Notice closely his words in verse 20, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build:…” Nehemiah chapter 6 finds this faithful prophet being bombarded by the attacks of the enemies of the Lord who dared to bring Nehemiah down off the wall in an attempt to put a stop to the defenses of Jerusalem and the worship of the God of the Israelites. In this present world of wickedness, there are still those who endeavor to put a stop to the cause of Christ and the pursuit of His children in worshiping Him in an acceptable manner. David said in Psalm 84:10, “I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Nehemiah had a work he felt led to do and would not let anything or anyone deter him from its end.

It is not easy to “stay the course” or ‘remain on the wall’ as Nehemiah did, so we need to be often reminded of the words of James in chapter 4 vs. 7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It is so easy to do as Simon Peter and some of the other apostles did in John 21:3 when he said, “I go a fishing.” However, we need to remember that they tolled all night and caught nothing as they failed in remaining profitable servants.

Oh that I could be more like Nehemiah in his actions to withstand the attacks of those who would tear down the cause of my Lord. My prayer needs to be for strength to remain faithful and stay on the wall day and night till my course is run. In Psalm 119 David said, “Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.” There are great benefits for the children of God who are willing to remain on the foundational wall of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and a resurrected Saviour. Psalm 119:1 states, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.” Nehemiah felt led to rebuild the wall and felt it to be a reproach unto God that it had not already been rebuilt.

Why don’t we have the same attitude in the defense of the truth and in the rebuilding of the household of faith? There were times when our churches were full and the joys of worshiping our Lord rang out for all to witness. Maybe if we took Nehemiah’s attitude in the rebuilding of the wall and applied it to the rebuilding and maintenance of the Lord’s church, we too would be blessed. It would surely be worth the effort to remain on the wall and be faithful in our devotion to His (God’s) great name. “Think About IT”!