Thursday, October 6, 2011

Rebuilding the Wall

I haven't written in a few days because I've been in the fire. We know that when the enemy attacks us that the battlefield is our mind. If he can find one weak area to interject negative thoughts, he will send a barrage of negativity into that place to tear down our defenses. He knows our weaknesses and he plans his evil attack against us. He is just like a wolf that studies a flock of sheep to see which ones are the weakest so that he can separate it from the flock and shred it to pieces. Our enemy tries to devour us in much the same way.

In Nehemiah, there was a wall that had been torn down by the enemy. This wall protected Jerusalem and surrounded the temple. I'm not going to go into the entire story, but only what the Lord is revealing to me concerning the attack.

As God's children were rebuilding the city walls, their enemy attacked them. But first, they tried to get in by being friendly and offering help. (Remember how the serpent "helped" Eve!) They were told they had no part in the rebuilding so they changed tactics. First they tried intimidation through words. They ridiculed and then threatened those who were doing the work. When that did no good, they were physically attacked.

This is what I have been going through. It began with an attack on my mind. I began to have negative thoughts, first about myself, then about others, then about myself again. As I tried to battle this on my own, I became physically ill. The harder I fought, the worse it became. I was praying, reading and speaking God's word and praying some more. But the battle only intensified. My weakness was attacked non-stop. I finally reached the point of self-loathing to the place that I didn't even care if I lived. That may sound drastic to some of you, but I was at my breaking point. I cried out to God, "If You don't do something, then nothing is going to happen." I had to learn that I had not yet tapped into all my resources.

But I want to get back to Nehemiah. In his wisdom, he knew that the small remnant working on the wall was not enough to protect the entire city. So he put them at the broken places working side by side. Half of them held swords and shields while the others worked to build. But they were still separated by great distances. So Nehemiah had one that stood on the wall to sound the trumpet when the enemy approached. This was a signal for everyone to come together, "In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us."

He told them that when they heard the "cry for help" that they should rally together and GOD WOULD FIGHT FOR THEM. So often, we don't call on our brothers and sisters in Christ to rally around us. We think our problems are insignificant and silly so we try to fight the battle on our own. This is exactly what satan wants us to do. He knows that on our own, we are weak. He knows there is strength in numbers. It is his plan to separate us from one another especially when we are weak.

So we stand alone, focused on our problem instead of joining forces and focusing on our Redeemer. Sometimes during the battle we need someone to hold up our hands because we get weary, just as Aaron and Hur held up the hands of Moses during the war with Amalek. (Exodus 17:12) 

I finally did what God intends for all of us to do, I blew the trumpet. The enemy had come in, I needed God to raise up the standard against him. When the flag is raised, help is on the way. But I had to ASK. Not only God, but others. When I had others agreeing in prayer with me, God moved quickly. The stronghold of the enemy was broken.

Matthew 18:18-Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (19) Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching, anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. (20) For where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in the midst of them. 

God created us to be interdependent. That is, to form relationships and to have allies. We  need people who are "on our side." Because we have a very real enemy. We also have a very real God. Even He made Himself interdependent. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Our Triune God. He has fully given us His plan on how we should live and relate to one another. A threefold cord is not quickly (or easily) broken. (Read Eccl.4:9-12)

Forever Dwelling in Him!
Blessings,
Peggy

1 comment:

  1. Great stuff! You touched on something that I often do... I don't ask others for help! I tend to think some of my requests are silly, especially compared to things others are facing. Or I think if I include others, it will be a burden to them, or that I SHOULD be able to fight such a small battle on my own. But when I finally call on others, I'm amazed at how quickly it gets resolved and wonder why I didn't do it sooner! We are not meant to do things on our own, and the sooner we realize this the better off we are! AND, we can accomplish so much more together!

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