Your Great Project

“I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”

Nehemiah 6:3

If you are committed to the work God has given you, you’ll find it easier to say no to any lesser thing. You’ll be able to focus on your mission and say no to distractions—just as Nehemiah did.

Nehemiah and his men had begun the formidable task of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed by the Babylonians. He faced opposition and ridicule, but he was determined to finish this assignment God had given him. When his enemies invited him to meet with them, they hoped they could make Nehemiah stop his work.

But Nehemiah was committed to what God had called him to do. He would not be sidetracked or tricked into coming down. Nehemiah wouldn’t engage in petty debates or get involved in any activity that would take him away from his God-given task to rebuild the walls.

What pressures and tactics are coming at you today? What’s keeping you from working on your “great project”? Ask God for discernment and guidance, and with His wisdom, determine which things you won’t stop for. Then you can say: “I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8 NASB).

Lord, it is a privilege to be given work that makes a difference for Your kingdom. Show me how to keep my focus!