Rise Up and Build: When Your Efforts Feel Inferior

But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. (Nehemiah 4:1-3) 

Seriously? This guy won’t quit, will he? The taunts didn’t work. The distraction plan proved ineffective. So, he moved on to Plan C—make the hero feel inferior. Notice the words he used: feeble and rubbish. Not exactly encouraging, is it? And, not to be outdone, Tobiah adds, “Even if they did build the wall, it would be so weak and wobbly that a little fox could crawl on it and cause the whole thing to crumble.” Deadly darts away!

The enemy will have you doubting yourself. Is it worth it? Are you doing it right? Shouldn’t you be further along? He will make you feel inferior and try to convince you that your efforts are in vain. “After all,” he will say, “you can build the walls, but as soon as something bad happens, they’ll crumble again. Just wait and see.” If we’re not careful, we’ll let him get to us, and we’ll spend more time worrying than working.

Don’t let the enemy tell you that you aren’t good enough! Do not let him fool you into thinking that your efforts are worth nothing. Don’t let him have the victory over you. It’s not his. We are the victors. According to God’s Word, we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37), which means we can build these walls, and they will stand. Besides, we have the Master Builder on our side and if God be for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

We’ll talk a little more about listening to the voice of the enemy in a later chapter, but for now, just remember that the enemy is a liar, and he’ll say whatever it takes to get you to stop building. Don’t give in to him and his wishes. Don’t let him be your puppet-master by allowing him to control your actions by his taunts and scare tactics. He’s just a bully trying to have his way, and you need to decide that you won’t be bullied any longer. That’s part of rising up. It’s not just about building the walls, but it’s about standing tall in the process, and it’s impossible for someone who is being bullied to stand up tall. It’s time to rise up. You are good enough because God said so. In fact, He thought you were worth dying for, so take that, enemy. God is doing a work in and through you, and He will complete it if you let Him.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. - I Corinthians 15:58


*Excerpt from Rise Up and Build:  A Biblical Approach To Dealing With Anxiety and Depression