Unstoppable Reading Plan – W2D4

Check out all the previous Unstoppable readings here.

Unstoppable Reading Plan | Week 2 | Day 4

Prayer

Take a moment to be silent and still. In order to be fully present in body and mind, take a deep breath in and let it out slowly. Do this three times. Ask God to give you His wisdom today.

Bible Reading: Nehemiah 6:1-14

Today, we continue to read about the pitfalls that Nehemiah and the Israelites faced in their mission. This pitfall came as they were wrapping up the mission.

Then word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”

But they were scheming to harm me; 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?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written:

“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.”

I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”

They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.”

But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me.

Reflection & Questions

As we’ve been looking at things that derail us from the mission God has given us, we have considered our feelings of inadequacy, our fears, and our critics. Today, we see Nehemiah facing opposition again, but this time they are trying to distract him. They try every which way they can to slow him and the people down.

First, they try to set up some kind of peace summit. They invited him four times. But Nehemiah saw through it, and his simple response each time is, “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?” It raises a question for us: There are so many things in our life that might call for our attention, but how do they compare to the “great project” God has given us?

Seeing that their ‘peace summit’ scheme isn’t working, Nehemiah’s opponents try to distract him by saying that people are spreading false rumors about him. But again, Nehemiah sees through it: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.” How often do our opponents say, “people are talking” and it turns out it is just them or them and one other person.

Finally, Nehemiah’s opponents try to distract him by paying a false prophet to say that Nehemiah’s life is in danger. Nehmiah is having none of it. “Should a man like me run away?” he says. It’s clear Nehemiah wasn’t going to be derailed. His eyes were set on the mission. His prayer was “Now strengthen my hands.” He was determined to complete the mission God had given him. What a great example he is to us!

1. What is distracting you from your mission? Is it a sin, a lure, good things wrongly prioritized? Write them down.
2. Picture Nehemiah facing those distractions. How do you think he would have responded?

Prayer

Talk to God in response to today’s reading.

Worship Song

You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:

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Questions?