Seeds for 10/02/2024 - Nehemiah 6:9
Scripture:
9 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.”
Observation:
Nehemiah has been steadfastly withstanding attempts to distract and undermine his work of rebuilding and securing Jerusalem. He has refused to get baited into a bogus meeting. He has called out their false pretenses.
Now we find an insightful reflection on Nehemiah’s part. He surmises that all this badgering him about pausing the work to meet with them has been an attempt at scare tactics meant to weaken his resolve and bring a premature end to the project.
Surprisingly, Nehemiah doesn’t protest or deny this possibility. He does not refute it and insist that they would never suffer such a thing. What he does is pray.
Rather than claiming to be strong, Nehemiah tacitly acknowledges that in this instance his enemy—who wishes and works to do him harm—is correct in his diagnosis of the situation. Nehemiah’s response is to turn the insight, uncomfortable as it may have been, into prayer.
Put another way, Nehemiah’s enemies work to chip away at his determination and resolve. Instead of claiming to have more, he prays for more. He doesn’t need to be stronger than his enemies, he simply needs to continue to depend on the power and goodness of the God who has been his strength thus far.
Application:
Have you ever realized that your critic had a good point that was helpful to you?
What did you do with that insight?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me to gain insight wherever it may be found and to use it to depend on you more. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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