Daily Devotional

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet



When You Meet With Fierce Resistance

Nehemiah purposed in his heart to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem as the Lord had sent him to do, but he is being harassed and threatened and he meets fierce resistance:

“For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying,
‘Their hands will be weakened in the work,
and it will not be done.’
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.”
Nehemiah 6:9

Similarly, in the New Testament, Paul testified of the Lord in Jerusalem, resulting in the religious leaders taking an oath that they won’t eat until they have killed him.

“…more than forty of them lie in wait for him,
men who have bound themselves by an oath
that they will neither eat nor drink
till they have killed him…”
Acts 23:21

But the Lord encourages Paul:

vs:11
“But the following night the Lord stood by him and said,
‘Be of good cheer, Paul,
for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem,
so you must also bear witness at Rome.’”

If you serve the Lord, it is guaranteed that you will be resisted, rejected, slandered, and opposed by the enemy of God. Our natural human reactions sting for a moment, but the Lord has told us that this is an occasion to “be of good cheer,” REJOICE! It takes a very mature believer to be able to do that. It takes great understanding to be able to do that.

“If the world hates you,
you know that it hated me before it hated you.”
John 15:18

Strive to keep this in mind always, and do not waver.

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you,
and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad,
for great is your reward in heaven…”
Matthew 5:11-12


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