Dealing with Detractors - Part Two

Don’t Let Detractors Determine Your Direction (vs. 9-12)

Once God has confirmed His will in your heart, walk in faith!

Even within Judah, there was discouragement setting in because of the attacks.

Critics do more than disagree, they attempt to disrupt.

Fear is contagious.

The path that God has laid out for us is not always free of obstacles or challenges but it is always to bring us to a greater appreciation of His nature.

Face Your Fear (vs. 13-15)

Nehemiah faced the fear that comes with opposition by acting in faith.

Don’t be surprised that some scenarios in life create anxiety.

Few of us will likely face situations where we are our lives are endangered physically for our faith but all of us will face situations where obedience can be costly.

Facing fear does not mean pretending it doesn’t exist, it means acting in spite of it.

Nehemiah acknowledged the danger and put in place steps to mitigate the danger.

The presence of danger means that your choice of how to respond in a situation is different than if the situation did not exist.

The steps that Nehemiah took to face the danger were inconvenient, cumbersome and limiting but they allowed the work to continue.

Don’t Let Your Guard Down (vs. 16-23)

Even after their enemies backed down, Nehemiah did not.

They stayed vigilant the entire time.

The people were instructed to be ready for the rallying call!