I Am Doing A Great Work

Nehemiah 6:1 - 4 (NKJV) - Now it happened, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies, heard that I had rebuilt the wall, and that there were no breaks left in it (though at that time I had not hung the doors in the gates), 2that Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together among the villages in the plan of Ono.” But they thought to do me harm. 3So I sent messengers to them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” 4But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner.

What we see in our Scripture reading above is Nehemiah’s enemies changing the mode of their attack.  They were trying to use the subtle tactic of distraction to lure Nehemiah away from his work. Prior to this tactic, they tried to used scorn, shame, belittling, and delegitimizing .

Nehemiah and his crew (Ne. 2:19). They mocked the quality of their work (Ne. 4:1~3). They also conspired to do bodily harm to them (Ne. 4:7~9). In other words, they were trying to dictate and impose on Nehemiah what their concept of his should be. Nehemiah’s enemies couldn’t deter him from the work with direct confrontational tactics, therefore they switched to a subtler way of trying to throw him off course. They were trying to get him to meet them in a place called Ono, perhaps under the guise of working out their differences. However, Nehemiah perceived that they meant to do him harm. Had he left the work and met with them at Ono, he would have had an Oh no moment. They tried to lure Nehemiah away from his task, but he would have none of it, he was on to their tactics. His reply to them was, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”
    
The previous tactics were easy to see a mile away.  They had bad intentions written all over them. But how was Nehemiah able to see through the subtle tactic of distraction his enemies tried to set for him? I suggest that he was able to discern their intent by their resistance toward his commissioned work. Nehemiah’s burden to rebuild the wall was planted and born out of a deep communion with the Lord (Ne. 1:1-11; 2:1-12). Therefore, it was more than just a passing thought, the desire and energy to do the work was placed within him by the Spirit of the Lord. As a result, any opposition (even the opposition of distraction) toward the commissioned work of the Lord was easy to see. What work has the Lord commissioned you to do? There are assignments within the overall purpose of God for us. What is God’s overall purpose for us? To glorify Him by being conformed to the image of Christ (Ro. 8:28-30). We must understand that God’s overall purpose entails assignments that He commissions for us over the span of our lives. For example, the apostle Paul knew his assignment within the overall purpose of God, the apostle said, I am set for the defense and confirmation of the gospel (Ph. 1:7, 17). Joseph also knew his assignment, he said the things he endured happened to save many lives (Gen. 50:20). The enemy of our souls, Satan, tries to employ some of the same tactics that Nehemiah’s enemies tried to use to draw Nehemiah away from his God commissioned assignment.

Perhaps the subtlest of all tactics is the one of distraction. It’s subtle because it comes most of the time in the form of the people we love and or respect the most. The fine line between distraction and responsibility can easily be blurred, for this reason we must use discernment to recognize which one were dealing with. When distractions come, and they will, we must have the steadfastness and conviction of heart to say along with Nehemiah, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”
How can we know that we have been commissioned to do a work for the Lord? If we have it in our mind that any work that God would assign to us is only going to be in the form of a ministry, in the traditional sense of the word, then we’re sadly mistaken. Was Nehemiah’s assignment to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem an assignment from God? It most certainly was, yet it was not a ministry in the traditional sense of the word. Nonetheless, it was a ministry unto the Lord and for the benefit of His people. If this is your mindset, then you are suffering from a sacred/secular divide of the mind. That is seeing ministry as sacred and work as something secular. There is no such divide biblically because the entire Christian life is to be sacred and lived unto the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). Another incorrect way of looking at God’s assignments is to view them in terms of scale, the size of the work. This is a trick of the enemy because a person’s assignment may be to show consistent love to someone who is difficult to love. This type of assignment won’t make the six o’clock news, but it nevertheless, speaks volumes to the glory of God. No matter how small the work the Lord has commissioned us to do, we must consider it great. That is to prioritize the completion of it. We can recognize our assignments from the Lord by the indelible pressing of the Spirit of God upon us. The Holy Spirit’s pressing does not violate any portion of God’s Word nor does He cause us to neglect anything He holds us responsible to do in His Word.

 A note to singles: A proper attitude toward God’s assignment could steer many away from a potential unequally yoked situation. It’s not enough that two people are Christians, that they share the same doctrines, have a lot in common, have compatible personalities, and that they share some of the same aspirations and are attracted to each other. You must take it a step further to see what assignments each of you have and whether you can assist each other in helping to fulfill those assignments. If not, you may be a lifelong distraction to each other.

Prayer:  Lord I thank you that you graciously entrust us with various assignments that are designed primarily to bring you glory and empower your people. I also thank you that you empower us and equip us for the task that you place in our hands. I pray that you would give us wisdom and discernment to see when the enemy is trying to hinder the work that you have given us to do. I pray that you would cause us to be steadfast, unmovable, and always abounding in the work you have assigned to each one of us, and that you would grant us eyes and hearts that are sensitive enough to see areas where we can help one another complete your assignments. In Jesus name, amen.

(by Bro. Casey Lingham)