Nehemiah 4:10 – Overcoming discouragement

Confidence and enthusiasm are two essential elements to cause one to stay on to complete a task. Without them, it is hard to be fully motivated to continue the task. On the other end, discouragement is what will cause one to lose enthusiasm and confidence. In Nehemiah 4:10, we get the feeling that the Jews engaged in rebuilding the walls were losing confidence. They were discouraged and demoralized. When they look at the task and the debris they had to remove, these plus their tired bodies made them lose perspective. They couldn’t see how the task could be completed. They were vulnerable at this point. Remember, they had stoutly fought off the demeaning remarks, withstood the threats, and vigilantly kept guard over what they were half completed. The workforce had been reduced because some had to be deployed to do guard duties and there was still a huge number of debris to be removed. This situation left those remaining tired workers susceptible to discouragement.

Undeniably, discouragement has a way to cause one to lose focus.  Instead of seeing the glass half full, their condition caused them to develop a perspective of the glass-half-empty syndrome.  So the common refrain all over Judah was “we are dead tired, the  rubbish is piling up, we are way over our heads, and it is impossible to build this wall.” Haven’t we been there before? When discouraged and demoralized any task look way too big for us to handle. In life where we place our focus is important. When we dwell on a problem, we tend to estimate a task way bigger than it really is. When we learn to look to God, the source of our strength we will have a more accurate estimate of the size of the task. Don’t only look at the thorns, learn to see and appreciate the roses.  Hebrews 11 were recorded to encourage us to learn from the heroes of faith.

 

Commenting on the heroes of faith he listed, hear what the author of the letter to the Hebrews said in chapter 12:1-3. ^“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your soul! (The Message)