Your Daily Devotional for April 4, 2006

April 4, 2006

 

Persistence Through Discouragement
by Dr. Paul Chappell

”The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
Psalm 18:2

One of the most devastating days in Jewish history took place around 586 B.C. when the Babylonian captivity began. When the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem, the Bible records that the temple was burned and the walls destroyed. Heartache filled the land.

About a hundred years later, a faithful remnant came back to rebuild the temple, and yet thousands of Jews remained outside of the land in captivity. One such man was Nehemiah. Though he was several hundred miles away, as soon as he heard the city was in peril, he prayerfully began to ask God to use him to make a difference for his people. The Bible records that as Nehemiah began planning to rebuild the wall, opposition mounted and certain people began to fight against him.

Part of the opposition Nehemiah was beginning to face was coming from his own people. In Nehemiah 4:10, Judah declares to Nehemiah, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.” When Nehemiah saw the potential of the wall, the people saw only problems. In verse 12, others came to Nehemiah and warned him of the impending dangers of building the wall saying, “they will be upon you.”  When Nehemiah saw hope many saw only hopelessness. Although this opposition may have discouraged Nehemiah, he remained persistent to His God-given purpose.

Instead of listening to the critics, Nehemiah decided to be proactive. In verse 14, Nehemiah says, “And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”  Nehemiah had a great work to do. He did not have time to listen to his critics and to field their complaints. Instead, Nehemiah lifted the eyes of those around him from off the rubbish and reminded them of the promises of God.

The tenacity displayed by Nehemiah as he pursued the work God had called him to do reminds me of the life of Timothy Stackpole. Timothy Stackpole was a fire fighter with the New York City Fire Department. Not long before the terrorist attacks on New York City on September 11, 2001, he had rushed into a building fire and was terribly burned. For some time, his life hung in the balance. After many surgeries and extensive therapy, he finally came back to strength and desired to return to work. In fact, in August of 2001, his superior officers came him and encouraged him to take a desk job or an early retirement because the accident had lessened his mobility After several meetings in which they tried to persuade him, Timothy told them, “I appreciate what you are asking me to do and what you are offering, but I have to go back to active duty. I have to go back. It is my calling to be a fireman.”

He did go back. His first morning back to work was September 11. His first call was World Trade Center, Tower One. Timothy Stackpole gave his life that morning to save others.

Today, all of us have a great work to do for the cause of Christ. This work is too great for us to come down from the wall. We cannot listen to our critics. We must not lose sight of our purpose. The Apostle Paul said in I Timothy 1:16 “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” How have you been living your life for the cause of winning souls to Christ? If you were to win even one more soul by coming back to your true calling of reaching the lost, it would be worth it all. In spite of discouragement and trials, Nehemiah was persistent to His God-given calling!

I challenge you to learn a great lesson of persistence through discouragement from the life of Nehemiah. I encourage you to be faithful to the calling of Jesus Christ. Pray that as you face discouragements in life that God will allow you to persevere and to gain victory for His glory.

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