Faith's Challenges: Fighting Discouragement

Focus passage: Nehemiah 4:1-15

 Discouragement is a constant battle for many of us. The world conspires seems to conspire against us and we lose heart. Every ounce of strength seems to be taken from our veins and we collapse in self pity. Sadly, Discouragement often comes when we are on the right track. Just because things are hard doesn’t mean that God doesn’t want you to be successful at your task. The workers rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls in the days of Nehemiah were definitely discouraged. Sanballat, the governor of Syria who desired to also be governor of Judah was terrified that the Jews were thinking of building the walls. He set out on a campaign of ridicule to discourage the workers and stop progress. You can see three signs of discouragement among the workers.

Fatigue overcame them v. 10a It would take the people 52 days to finish the wall around Jerusalem. The project was halfway done and some were so tired that they were ready to give up. They were priests, trades people and farmers; not masons. The work was going too slow for them. They wanted to be done one way or another. Sanballat had mocked them causing them to lose sight of the purpose of protection and safety that the wall would give.

Frustration caused burnout v.10b The Jews had to clean out piles of rubble from the wall before they could rebuild the wall in that space. It was a lot of unstacking and restacking stones. Years before the walls had been torched making many of the stones useless. In addition they were frustrated that their enemies would not let them build in peace. They had swords strapped to their waist and lived on a heightened sense of alert. Why were things so tough?

 Fear slowed them down v. 11 The rumor mongers were pronouncing doom and gloom on the Jerusalem Jews. The enemy is preparing a surprise attack. The wall you are completing will not stand. It was a message of criticism and not of encouragement. It slowed down the work because the fear of attack was real. Half the people worked and half stood guard against attack. Each man worked with a sword or spear in hand ready to fight. What good was a wall if you were killed before it could protect you?

So what did Nehemiah do when events discouraged the people? First, he prayed. He looked up to the Lord for hope and help. He knew that the people could not do the work alone. He asked that the Lord might judge the people keeping God’s city from being rebuilt. Nehemiah’s prayer encouraged him so that he could encourage others. In our times of trouble, we need to cry out to the Lord before we get discouraged. Let your prayer be the first thing you do and not the last. Ask the Lord for help. Don’t be afraid to ask the Lord to deal with people who are acting in evil ways. Ask the Lord to let His purpose not be defeated so that all those around you might benefit. You will impact the people around you and give them courage and strength as well. You will make a difference because you believe in the Lord and remember all the things that He has done.