When I am in the middle of a writing project, I need complete quiet. I don’t want phone calls, television shows, meetings, social events, or undone housework to interrupt my progress. But it’s so easy to let distractions interfere with the good work that God has called me to do!
When Nehemiah was nearly finished with “Project Rebuild,” he had to stay focused. But his enemies were focused, too—on distracting him from the finish line. Their first ploy was to busy him with meetings. But Nehemiah said, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.” The second course of action was to accuse him of wrongdoing. His response was, “What you say is not true. You are lying!” And their last scheme was to use fear: “Someone is going to kill you.” Nehemiah answered, “I am not going to run away!” He knew that the false threat was created to make him drop his work.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Remember that your Lord and Savior will see you through to the end!