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Apr 11, 2007

The Mind Game

Background:This chapter from Nehemiah just hits the nail on the head regarding some issues in my life. Nehemiah's enemies Sanballat and Tobiah, could not discourage Nehemiah from doing the Lord's work, so they turned to use the mind game of intimidation.( They sent him various letters blaming his work as if it were some major political scam to go against the Persian kings, who were then in rule over Israel). Then they even tried a more spiritual method to discourage him , through a false prophetess saying he would surely die at the hands of Sanballat and Tobiah. In spite of all this, Nehemiah stayed true to the work God had assigned to him and completed the wall. In the end we see, the intimidation turned its face from Nehemiah only to face his enemies. The Bible records in Nehemiah 6:15-16 "So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. "LessonsI don't know about you, but I find myself constantly in some kind of a battle of the mind. Here's an example- When I worship the Lord and feel His presence and enjoy it. No sooner has this happened the next moment as I move on to learn more deeply of Our Living God, I feel as if my head says "You did a good job at worship, God must really be very impressed with you, you are so good. You are perfect, see that other person there, they can't even sing one tune right, but look at you". When I was new to this problem, pride would immediately set in and the next stage of my worship wouldn't work, because I would start depending on my strength rather than God's Holy Spirit. These mind games could work either ways, either to condemn you or to bring pride in your heart. Then I heard in a message- "You can never fight a thought with a thought-Fight it with voiced Word of God and see them disappear." I tried that and it really worked.

Here are the lessons I found through Nehemiah's encounter in Nehemiah 6


  • Refuse any discussion with the enemy regarding your work-Nehemiah 6:1-4 When Nehemiah recieved letters of invitation to meet with Sanballat and Tobiah, he denied them, not once but 4 times. He could have thought oh finally these men have changed, they care about me, they want to talk to me. But Nehemiah knew better, he knew his work at the wall wasn't complete and refused to go with them. Our enemy works the same way. Eph 2:12-13 "12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. " So as we worship, as we read the word of God, as we fellowship, as we testify, as we preach we are working our salvation, that which God has planned for us, and our enemy doesn't want us to finish it.Let us refuse to get into any argument with the enemy, whether he bring reasons in our mind or through other people, let us stand firm and refuse not once but as many times as he comes to stop us.

  • Be rooted and grounded in God's Word of Truth-When Nehemiah refused to go to meet Sanballat and Tobiah, they sent their important aide to convey the message. This message was promoting a false rumor and a lie. It said Nehemiah was building the wall in order to revolt against the Persians(who were then ruling Israel), and that Nehemiah had planned to become the king for Jews and moreover had sent prophets to proclaim himself(Nehemiah) as king so people would believe. To this Nehemiah responded, and I add, I love his response Neh 6:8 " I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head." Nehemiah knew the truth of his work and of God's work through him really well and was firmly established in this truth and this lie the enemies brought had no chance before him. Let us so be rooted and grounded in TRUTH of the word of God what God says about us, what our duty is in the Kingdom of God, what our stand is before God so that no matter what rumor the enemy concocts it will fall flat to the ground as we take a stand against it.

  • Add to Truth, Prayer-Neh 6:9 "9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed." But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands." Not only did Nehemiah know the truth of God's work assigned to him, but prayed for strength to complete the work given.

  • Discernment-v10-14, the enemies had hired many prophets to intimidate Nehemiah with false prophecy regarding him being killed by his enemies. Nehemiah discerned, this was not from God. When we know our God really well, (not knowing about Him, but knowing our Living God as we know our best friend) nothing can cause doubt in your mind even if they speak God's language.

Conclusion:The result of all that Nehemiah did standing firmly in the knowledge of our Living Lord and continuing without falling, at the work God had given him, Nehemiah and the Jews who worked with him finished building the wall. Neh 6:15-16 "15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God. "
Let us therefore, not give up the work God has given to us, either rebuilding a community, a family, a life, children, whatever it may be, let us not slack or lose at the mind game the enemy may want to trick us with, but let us work at our salvation, even as God wills to act in us according to His good purpose for our lives. We have the peace that our Lord Jesus has given us and I love the way Amplified Bible expands the work this peace does, especially the Word "garrison"-
Philippians 4:7(AMP) "And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

8 comments :

Marcian said...

Wow, are you writing these yourself? This is some terrific insight.

Live, Love, Laugh said...

Hey thanks for the comment on my blog, I am glad you enjoy my blog, I do enjoy yours too, it ministered to me today as I was reading about how the enemy works. Sometimes we forget we are not dealing with a human opponent but with spiritual wickedness. Thanks for an awesome post!!

Even So... said...

Nice to meet you, blessings!

Sista Cala said...

AWESOME WORD!
When the intimidator speaks to you, the Word of God in you becomes the wall that deflects the assault back into the face of the enemy.

Yolanda said...

Very Good, encouraging and challenging word! Hit the Spot!!!!!!!!!!!!! Blessings to you!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for stopping by.
I enjoyed this. Sometimes our minds get off on the wrong track, and it takes awhile to realize that our enemy has placed these mind sets.

Live, Love, Laugh said...

just stopped in to see if you posted.

Godwyn Lim said...

Wow,

Sister Godheart, amazing post! Thank you for sharing:=)

Shalom~