What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall…Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble–burned as they are? ~ Nehemiah 4:2
The story in Nehemiah chapters 4-6 is about rebuilding a wall. By replacing the word “wall” with “marriage” then Nehemiah’s battle is no different than what many married couples face today: opposition from the enemy. After being married 8 years and doing marriage counseling for 4, I can attest that the enemy uses similar lies against marriages.
In Nehemiah 4:1-2, it’s easy to see that when we obey God’s call to take a stand for our marriages, the enemy will attack us full-force, trying to cause us to doubt our spouses’ intentions and to eventually quit. Instead, we should follow the words of Nehemiah, “’Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for…your wives and your homes.’ When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work,” (4:14-15) When we are aware of the enemy’s schemes, we can more easily fight through it and return to rebuilding and strengthening our marriages.
Father God, I pray that marriages would be strengthened, that couples would stand with each other against their real enemy. It’s when our spouses are at their weakest that they need our love, encouragement, and support all the more. Help us all to see past the lies of the enemy and to take a stand for our gift from God: our spouse.
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.” ~ Nehemiah 6:9
Heatherpotts5
Sixty-six books in a year 