“And it came about when all our enemies heard of it, (that the wall was completed in 52 days) and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.”  Nehemiah 6:16

Ever read the account from Nehemiah about the rebuilding of the wall?

 “The book of Nehemiah is an account of the returning exiles from Babylonia–the third and last, and the one in which the wall was rebuilt.  Nehemiah, the governor, had the responsibility of coordinating the rebuilding of the wall surrounding Jerusalem.  The work was going well in spite of much opposition through slander and treachery.  Though the enemies were relentless, they did not take into account Nehemiah’s strong reliance upon God, and each of the schemes was met with failure.  Nehemiah set a dramatic example for all to follow in successfully fighting against the onslaught of fiery darts.” Excerpt from Fiery Darts: Satan’s Weapon of Choice, p. 7

Has God ever called you to a task that seemed beyond your strength to accomplish?  Nevertheless, you armed yourself with God’s promise and you accepted the equipment He furnished you with to get the job done.  Armed with the confidence of God’s promises and faith in God’s Word you then set about climbing this seemingly insurmountable mountain!

Then a ways into the work, your strength began to wane.  Your helpers who so enthusiastically supported your leadership in the beginning became disgruntled.  The work wasn’t going fast enough.  It was taking too long.  The ranks became disunited and began to question the wisdom of continuing along the path that had been laid out before them.  It didn’t seem to be working anymore.

Read the following, if the above has ever happened to you.

Thus in Judah it was said, “The strength of the burden bearers is failing. Yet there is much rubbish; And we ourselves are unable to rebuild the wall.”  And our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them, and put a stop to the work.”  Nehemiah 4:10-11

The fiery darts are obvious aren’t they.  The enemy is subtle and deceptive.  He sneaks in among God’s people and sows discontent, disunity, causes them to loose their focus, creates doubt, disheartens the people involved;  oh you name it and the enemy does it.  He’ll do anything and everything to stop God’s work!

But you know what, Nehemiah was wise to the enemy’s tactics!  And because Nehemiah didn’t loose his focus, listened ONLY to God, and feared no man, he could not easily be deceived.  Nehemiah was obedient to what God called him to do and shut out the fiery darts (which I might add, were often coming from his own people; the people he was leading) and after more fiery darts than any of us could imagine,

THAT WALL GOT BUILT AND EVERYONE RECOGNIZED THAT THE WORK HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED WITH THE HELP OF GOD!

 Hallelujah, for God’s team.  Now that’s the team I want to be on when the chips are down, when plans are crumbling all around me.  Sure, that’s not very comfortable or desirable BUT if you hang on during those tough times and determine to be an instrument for God to accomplish His plan, your faith will spark other’s faith and you can lead the fray back to the path they wandered from.  You want to know how?

Then read another excerpt from my book:

Giving into such a temptation is all the more likely if we are not grounded in God Word and if we aren’t strong enough in our trust of God’s provision and protection.  We become susceptible to the lies used against us, thus increasing the possibility of succumbing to the temptation of giving up on what God has called us to do. (p. 10)

The Enemy’s plan had not changed–to stop the work.  Nehemiah’s assignment had not changed either–to rebuild the wall.  He had his mandate and he would be faithful to follow through.  (p. 10)

Because Nehemiah was so close to God, he recognized anything that did not appear to be of God.  Therefore, the lesson we must grasp is that closeness to God is vital to our understanding in what the Enemy is up to and how to respond.  Satan will not only use our own thinking to deceive us, but will attempt to use others to foster that deception.  Therefore, our closeness to God will be our greatest protection.  By delving into Scripture for a word from God, the Enemy’s plan will be exposed and we will have the ammunition to counter attack. (p. 11-12)

So that’s how you do it my dear readers.  That’s how you shoot down the fiery darts.  Just following Nehemiah’s example.  Now I suggest you get out your Bible and start absorbing Nehemiah chapters 1-6.  There’s a lot of good stuff in there about how to defeat the enemy and avoid allowing yourself to be manipulated by him.

BUT REMEMBER:

Satan wants to keep you from reading this account in Nehemiah, so don’t be surprised when those fiery darts tell you, “Oh you’re familiar enough with those chapters so you don’t really need to read them.”

Satan desires to keep you from praying and seeking God’s will. So again, don’t be surprised when those fiery darts try to convince you that any discord you are sowing is justified and your ways seem right to you.

 Prov. 14:12, “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

(Just saying’)

 Oh, here’s a final word to remember:

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:16-17