Being Consistent: Say No to Distractions

Welcome back

Week 2 of consistent

Last time we talked about Daniel and the lions den

Even though the law was changed and he faced death, he was consistent. He did not try to bend God to the will of man

Now, as always, lets look at the definition one more time

“Not wavering from God’s principles and His Holy Word.”

Today we are going to talk about the story of Nehemiah

This story is over several chapters and I encourage you to read them yourself. But I will share a solid overview of the story.

Nehemiah’s Amazing Wall Project: A Story of Courage and Faith

Imagine your city’s protective walls lying in ruins, burned and broken. That’s what Jerusalem faced when Nehemiah heard from his brother that the Jewish people who had returned from exile were in great trouble and disgrace (Neh 1:1–4). When Nehemiah learned that Jerusalem’s wall had been broken down and its gates burned, he sat down and wept, mourning for days while fasting and praying (Neh 1:1–4).

Getting Permission to Help

Nehemiah worked for the Persian king, but he had a bold idea. The king noticed Nehemiah looked sad and asked why, and Nehemiah explained that the city where his ancestors were buried lay in ruins (Neh 2:1–8). The king asked what Nehemiah wanted, and after praying, Nehemiah requested permission to rebuild Jerusalem and asked for letters to governors and timber from the royal forest—and the king granted everything (Neh 2:1–8).

Facing Opposition

The project faced serious challenges. When Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem heard about the rebuilding plans, they mocked and despised the workers, asking if they were rebelling against the king (Neh 2:11–20). Sanballat became furious and mocked the Jews, saying they were pathetic, and Tobiah joked that even a fox could break down their wall (Neh 4:1–3).

The opposition grew worse. When enemies saw the wall being repaired and gaps closing, they plotted together to come fight Jerusalem and throw it into confusion (Neh 4:7–5:13). Enemies threatened to attack and kill the workers to stop the work (Neh 4:7–5:13).

Working While Defending

Nehemiah’s solution was creative and practical. Half the workers held weapons while the other half built, laborers carried loads with one hand and held weapons with the other, and builders wore swords while working (Neh 4:7–5:13). Nehemiah encouraged people not to be afraid, reminding them to remember God and fight for their families and homes (Neh 4:7–5:13).

Enemies also tried sneaky tricks. Sanballat and Geshem sent messages inviting Nehemiah to meet, planning to harm him, but Nehemiah refused four times, saying he was doing important work (Neh 6:1–9). They sent false rumors claiming Nehemiah was planning to rebel and become king (Neh 6:1–9), but Nehemiah replied that these were lies invented in their minds (Neh 6:1–9).

The Victory

Despite everything, the wall was completed in just fifty-two days (Neh 6:15–16). When enemies heard the news, all surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, realizing the task had been accomplished by God (Neh 6:15–16).

What can we take away from this story?

We aren’t building a wall, but what is your mission here?

None of us are here to build a wall are we?

We are hear to learn and to learn to be closer to God.

But as with Nehemiah, there are those that do not want to see you do either of those things.

They are much more interested in distracting you or persuading you into spending your time elsewhere.

Just like Nehemiah, you also face a lot of obstacles

Now,

Nehemiah faced A LOT of obstacles right? A ton of stumbling blocks, and yet no matter what happened, he kept his mind focused on the task. He knew that God would take care of him, so he dismissed everything else.

Is this easy?

No!

Let’s look at what he and the workers has to endure!

Mocking, shaming, and maybe even name calling

The enemies called them pathetic, weak [will you ever finish it], and even told them that their work was terrible

Nehemiah 4:3 “Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside him, said, “Indeed, even if a fox climbed up what they are building, he would break down their stone wall!””

Have you experienced this?

I am sure you all have experience that before. Someone doesn’t like one of your interests or that you are trying something new, so they mock you. They make fun of you.

It happens everyday, and it doesn’t stop when you are grown. It might look different, but it is very much still there.

There are so many reasons that people resort to name calling, teasing, or bulling.

A lot of the time it is a place of jealousy. You have something they want, whether it is an object or maybe even happiness, and they want it but don’t know how to get it. So, since they can’t have it, neither can you.

Some get enjoyment out of it. They want to make you feel small so they can feel big.

Sometimes people are just angry and take it out on those around them

It could also be from peer pressure. Their group of friends all pick on others. It is what they do and to be with those friends you also have to pick on others.

This form of bullying is the easiest way to hurt someone or to get attention.

Lots of people would just say ignore them, but that is way easier said than done and isn’t the way we are taught.

We are to LOVE our enemies

You have to love them and pray for them, even when they are being cruel to you. You have to do your best to be nice to those that are not nice to you and give it up to God for help.

What you can’t do is let it distract you. That is their goal. They are already hurting your feelings. Why would you let them also win in getting you off course?

And sometimes, when it isn’t working bullies moved up from verbal taunting and name calling to the threat of violent.

2. Physical violence

Now, with bullies, when the easy name calling seems to not work, some move on to more physical means to get what they want. This comes in the form of threatening.

Do what I say, or I am going to hurt you.

Sometimes they mean it, and other times it is just a threat, but when it moves to this level, it can’t simply be ignored. Nehemiah was not sure if the threats to kill the workers and attack the city were real.

So he took action.

He armed himself and his workers against the threat. He put up guards day and night, half his workers and even those that were building held a tool in one hand and a weapon in the other.

Nehemiah 4:17 “who were rebuilding the wall. The laborers who carried the loads worked with one hand and held a weapon with the other.”

He took precautions yes, but did he stop? NO! He knew God’s plan and no matter what the world threw at him, he kept going.

What does this look like for you?

Well, we don’t go around carrying swords or spears to protect ourselves.

You have us. We are your sword and shield against anyone that would cause you harm.

As we said last chapter, you have to be bold.

Do not sit in it or be ok with it. Do not accept it as a part of life. Let us help you so you can get back to your job of learning and following Christ.

Now, when the threat of violence didn’t help, what did the bullies do?

Cunning

The next thing they moved into was being sneaky or trying to trick Nehemiah into stopping his work.

They sent message after message asking to speak with him, intending to cause him harm and time and time again he rejected their offer, keeping his eye and hand on the task. Being consistent.

But what does this look like for you?

This can be as simple as a joke, a video, or a game that takes your mind off of your focus. Think of it as a distraction. We know we need to accomplish our task, but those that do not want us to succeed put distractions in the way to pull our attention away.

I am sure that in this story, they were looking to harm Nehemiah physically by luring him away, but I don’t think it has to be so sinister today. The lure of play can be a very potent and powerful distracter from what matters.

And Finally, When all else failed

Lies and using a person of authority

They made up a lie and threatened to tell the king so as to get Nehemiah in trouble so that he could not finish the work. The threatened a lie of rebellion, something that could have easily gotten a lot of people killed. Remember, Nehemiah got permission to rebuild the home of his ancestors, not to start an army!

What did Nehemiah do?

He called them out on it! Told them they were making it all up, trusted in God, and straight ignored them. Nehemiah knew the truth! He knew his God was there to help him and knew that no effort by the enemy would stop him. He stayed and made no efforts to squish the rumor. He just kept working. He kept believing.

What does that mean to you?

This would be like if you were playing an important game and the opponent was losing, so they made up a story that you were cheating. They know they can’t win so they go to the referee or official and accuse you. You know you didn’t cheat, but there will likely be an investigation and for a while the game might even stop.

Or this could be even more sinister and those that do not like you might tell a teacher you are cheating on an exam. They are trying to use an authority figure to hurt you because they can’t do it on their own.

But we have to continue to do what is right and we have to trust that no matter what happens, that we will be taken care of.

This can be an incredibly frustrating thing to be in. You know you did nothing wrong, but you watch as your whole world around you comes crumbling down at the words of someone you know is trying to hurt you.

In those times, pray for the wisdom of those that make decisions. Pray that they will be able to discern truth from lies.

We see that God knew and nothing came of these lies. But that might not always be the case. We just have to trust that however it happens, that it is working toward a path that we just can’t see yet.

I will say again. Life is hard guys. It is so very tough. It is designed to pull you down, and once you are down, it is designed to grab ahold of you and simply not let go.

I said before that consistency is the hardest of these character traits for me. It is because my human brain things that if I am doing what is right, there should be reward or things should be easy, when it is nearly the opposite.

The closer I get to God, the more I let him guide me and surrender to him, the more opposition, the more enemies I make. The harder life becomes.

It is so easy to give up. I spent quite a few year of my life not wanting to fight. I gave in to the distractions and the temptations, and for a while life seemed to be so very sweet.

But I promise you, one day you will return your eyes to God, you will feel his path and his warmth and you will realize how much of a lie we tell ourselves. How much we tell ourselves we are happy when we are simply blind.

We hear this story and we think that nehemiah was some sort of hero. But really, he just refused to become distracted by life when his goal was God.

That is what we have to do each day. We have to keep our eyes toward heaven and not let the word of distractions pull you down.