REMEMBER THE LORD AND FIGHT!

REMEMBER THE LORD AND FIGHT!

By Doug Pierce

“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 4:14

REMEMBER THE LORD AND FIGHT!

How many times have you reached the halfway point on a project and wanted to throw your hands up and quit? I can say I’ve been there many times. We recently remolded our home. I mostly worked at it on Mondays, the day I normally get things done around the house. Doing most of the work myself, it took over two years to complete the job. You name it, we redone (Southern talk) it. Every wall was repaired and repainted, all of the flooring was replaced, and two bathrooms were repainted and refurbished with new countertops, showers, tubs and toilets. It was a long, grueling, slow paced and frustrating project! I can remember getting about halfway through the project and just stopping for several weeks. I was at the place where I felt like either quitting or hiring someone else to finish it.

There was one thing that got me up and kept me going. I remembered what got me started on the project to start with. It was because it’s what my beautiful wife wanted me to do. That’s when I picked up my hammer, paintbrush and rollers and got back at it. I finished the job! How? It was simply the thought of remembering my dear wife and that kept me going!

My remodeling project reminded me of times in my spiritual walk when I’ve grown tired, discouraged, defeated and just felt like giving up. Can you relate to that? It could be you are in that place today. Hear again the timely words of Nehemiah when he said, “remember the Lord…and fight!”

ACCEPT NEHEMIAH’S CHALLENGE

I love the book of Nehemiah.  It’s the story of how he led the effort to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He and a group of chosen men headed back to Jerusalem and went to work. They made great progress in a short time. The Bible says in chapter 4 and verse 6, “…all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Nehemiah, along with the crew of men with him, had made it to the halfway point of rebuilding those walls, and that’s when it happened. Their enemies really stepped up the attack. Sanballat, Tobiah and the rest of the devil’s pawns began threatening to kill Nehemiah and his builders if they did not immediately cease the rebuilding project. All of Nehemiah’s workers began to recoil in fear. They wanted to throw up their hands and quit. That’s when Nehemiah encouraged them to “remember the Lord and fight!” They responded to his challenge, stood up to their enemies, and saw God do a great work. Sanballat, Tobiah and the rest of their foes never laid a hand on them, and the wall was finished in record time!

HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN?

The need of the hour is for you and me to “remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and FIGHT!” In our spiritual battle, the devil would like nothing more than to get us discouraged, afraid, distrusting, critical, negative, faithless and lose hope. He wants us to throw in the towel on all that God has promised us in the work He’s called each of us to finish. He barks at us, “It is hopeless! You are a failure! Just go ahead and quit!” We must remember the devil is a liar and a defeated foe. Just as Nehemiah and the people stood in the face of threats, ridicule and fear, so you and I can do the same and come out victorious, just like they did!

Remember, God has promised His children GREAT things, far beyond what we can ask or think (Ep. 3:20). He wants to bless us, and work through us to bless others. He wants to answer our prayers and show Himself mighty and strong in our lives. Never forget that in our spiritual battle, the Lord WILL NOT do it all for us and we CAN NOT do it without Him. He is faithful to do His part. Our part is to believe His Word and stand against the enemy, in spite of the fear.

THE WARFARE IS PRAYER

It could be you’ve reached a point lately in your walk with the Lord that you’ve felt like throwing in the towel. Don’t you do it! Get up and “fight the good fight the good fight of faith” (I Tim 6:12). The warfare truly is prayer. Lift up your voice in prayer and fight for your marriage and for your family, and for the many good and wonderful promises God has made to you.

Quit letting the devil steal you blind and intimidate you into a corner. Stand up to him in Jesus’ name. The Bible tells us, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Nehemiah and the people won the victory simply because they would not be intimidated by the enemy. They remembered that God was greater than any enemy. And, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Get back up and fight! REMEMBER, nothing God-sized is every accomplished without prayer. And nothing God-sized is ever won without a fight. So remember the Lord, get in the battle and see Him bring the victory!

Think it over…

Doug Pierce is a Church planter and a pastor. In 2003 he started, and continues to pastor First Independent Methodist Church in Madison, Mississippi. His #1 priority is to glorify God in all aspects of ministry. He does this through teaching his congregation to Love God, Love One Another, and Love Others to God. Prayer, outreach, and church growth through evangelism are vital parts of his ministry. He and his wife Suzanne live in Madison, Mississippi where they also enjoy their children and grandchildren. To find out more about Doug‘s ministry visit the FIMC Website

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