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“For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.” (Nehemiah 6:13 NKJV)
In a swift response to the distressful news of the deplorable condition of the Jewish exiles who had returned to Jerusalem, Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem to encourage and mobilize his people to rebuild the broken wall of Jerusalem and repair its burnt gates.
But when their adversaries, led by Sanballat and Tobiah, saw that Nehemiah and his workforce were making significant progress in rebuilding the broken wall of Jerusalem, they became furious. They employed several means to frustrate and stop them (Neh. 4:7-10).
Fear was the principal means, strategy, or weapon they employed against them. They utilized every tool to frighten Nehemiah and his workforce to stop their progress and thwart their plan and purpose.
First, Sanballat and Tobiah sent frightening news of their intention to invade Jerusalem ten times to Nehemiah (Neh. 4:12). Second, Sanballat and Tobiah employed prophets to prophesy false and frightening prophecies to manipulate and control Nehemiah through fear (Neh. 6:10-14).
But Nehemiah and his workforce confronted, quenched, subdued, and overcame all the fiery darts and missiles of fear fired at them and thus accomplished their goals in fifty-two days.
They indeed have some great lessons to teach us about how to confront, subdue, and overcome fear, which is the devil’s chief weapon and means of paralyzing and stopping us from pursuing and fulfilling God’s purposes for our lives.
Let us learn from them!
First, Nehemiah recognized fear as a sin.
Nehemiah vehemently refused to flee to the temple to hide, according to the counsel of the false prophet hired by Sanballat and Tobiah. Why?
Because Nehemiah recognized fear as a sin, he insisted he would not “act that way and sin.” (Neh. 6:13 NKJV).
Any time you speak, pray, or act in fear, you sin against God. Unfortunately, many prayers in our churches today are motivated by fear of our enemies. Many believers and churches are controlled, dominated, and influenced by fear of death, witches, or demons.
Your victory over fear starts with recognizing fear as a disobedience to God’s command that you should not fear. God commands, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” (Isa. 43:1 NKJV).
Any of your actions not motivated by faith is a sin in God’s sight, “for whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:23 NKJV).
A believer operating in fear indirectly says that God’s promises or words are untrue and unreliable and that God cannot keep His promises or words.
Second, Nehemiah’s spiritual perception or discernment enabled him to overcome fear.
Sanballat and Tobiah hired many prophets to pronounce frightening prophecies to Nehemiah so that he might be afraid and then run to hide in the house of God.
One of those false prophets even counseled Nehemiah, saying, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” (Neh. 6:10 NKJV).
However, through spiritual discernment, Nehemiah perceived that God did not send this prophet, so he refused to believe, obey, or submit to his prophecy and counsel.
Nehemiah said, “Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him.” (Neh. 6:12 NKJV).
Many false prophets today pronounce frightening prophecies and terrible dreams and visions to people with a motive to manipulate, control, and defraud unwise and undiscerning people who are ignorant of God’s Word.
Unlike Nehemiah, who refused to be frightened, controlled, and manipulated by false prophets and frightening prophecies to hide in the temple, sadly, there are many undiscerning believers today whose allegiance and devotion to a church or a prophet are borne out of fear.
Whenever you subscribe to fear in any form, you submit yourself to the devil to manipulate, control, dominate, oppress, and hold you in bondage (Heb. 2:14-15).
Therefore, you must not allow any prophet or pastor to frighten you into praying in strange and unscriptural ways, give special offerings and gifts to him, or become his financial partner, follower, or church member.
You need to pray for spiritual discernment and be versatile in God’s Word lest someone manipulates and defrauds you in the name of God through frightening prophecies, visions, or dreams.
The Scripture warns, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1 NKJV).
Third, Nehemiah and his workforce could waste and defeat all the arsenals of fear their adversaries rolled out against them because they were watchful and prayerful.
Nehemiah and his men were fully armed with weapons of war while rebuilding the broken walls of Jerusalem. When their adversaries heard about their alertness and preparedness, they gave up attacking them (Neh. 4:9-15).
Beloved, it takes putting on the armor of God and being watchful in prayers to recognize, repel, or quench every fiery dart or arrow of fear the enemy may fire at you.
Therefore, be alert spiritually and allow no one to sow the seeds of fear in your mind through any medium. Watch what you incline your ears to hear, what you fix your eyes upon, and what you read.
“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Eph. 6:16 NKJV).
Friend, are you today bombarded with arrows of fear on all sides like Nehemiah?
Arise today to confront and overcome your fear by taking the shield of faith.
Find out more about overcoming your fear in the second part of this piece!
Prayer:
Dear Holy Spirit, teach and help me daily to take the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of fear fired at me by the devil and his agents, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Our mandate is to Preserving the Faith of the Apostolic Generation.
Eniyekpemi Fidelis Oyinpreyebi.
AWH, Blogs.
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