Opposition - negativity and fear

The devil has a couple more things to try.
Remember when we talked about "glass half empty; glass half full"?
Some people have a positive outlook on life, while others have a negative one.
Negative Nellies have a special place in Satan's toolkit!
Let's look back at chapter four and then we can talk . . .

Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.” (v 12)

Waaaaaaaaaait a minute!
The anger, intimidation, mockery and all came from the enemy without: Sanballat, Tobiah, and others in the region.
This negativism came from the Jews themselves -- the ones who lived near the enemy. And here is another thing to notice . . . these people were not involved in the building of the wall! It says they lived near them (the enemy) and so they were constantly exposed to the negative attacks on the rebuilding.
But.
But they were not involved personally in the work.
So, on the one hand, they were hearing all kinds of threats and negative reports and mockery, and on the other hand, they were not part of the rebuilding, so they had NO CLUE what God was doing in the city of Jerusalem. No firsthand knowledge. My commentaries noted that the "ten times" is a Hebrew expression. It means they came over and over and over and.....well, you get my drift. They were nagging the workers and Nehemiah.

Negativity can sure be the enemy of faith. Remember the spies sent into the Promised Land? The negative ones came back and said, "There are giants in the land! We were like grasshoppers in their sight....there's no way we can take the land."  (See Numbers 13 for the full story.)

Have you ever noticed that the most negative people in the church are usually professing Christians who live near the enemy and are not involved in the work? (Grin) Yep, it happens that way. If one lives near the enemy, one must pay particular attention and make certain to not be influenced by him. And the best medicine for a negative Nellie is to get him or her involved in the work. Of course, there is a proper place for realistic thought. We should not (and Nehemiah did not) ignore real dangers or issues. But if we spend too much time listening to the prophets of doom, we won't get our work done for the Lord!

The last thing we'll talk about today is fear. I guess sometimes it is not a tool in and of itself, but may be a cumulative effect. After all, we are human. Anger, mockery, intimidation, negativity, and threats can take a toll on us!

After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” (v 14)

Nehemiah must have seen some fearful faces as he looked around, and he gently told them not to be afraid. He knew his people. He knew they'd experienced all of the enemy's tricks and now were nearing exhaustion. Nehemiah exhorted them to have courage.

Satan can use fear to paralyze believers and keep them from attempting anything significant for the Lord.
Maybe it is fear of failure....."I've never done this before."
Maybe it is fear of rejection...."Everyone will think I'm a fanatic."
Maybe it is fear of conflict....."If I do what God wants me to do, I'll be a target."

Don't be afraid. The Lord, "who is great and awesome," gave us our task. He will be with us.
Next time, we'll talk about some responses to the devil and his tactics!