Today’s Reading:
Nehemiah 4
Isaiah 41
Isaiah 49
”Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?” Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!” Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity. Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders. So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.“
Nehemiah 4:1-8 NASB1995
The Spirit of the Living God says,
I hover over the darkness. I hover over the deep, and I Am doing so now. You see deep darkness in the Earth? Still I Am there. None can flee from My Presence. I Am there, even in the midst of it — working, convicting and shining light into the darkness of the hearts of men and women who live in this deep darkness. They are not free from the conviction of sin. They are not free from My convicting, loving, nudging Presence. The darkness has been searched. I have shed My light into the hearts of the ones residing, working and worshipping in darkness and for darkness. It doesn’t frighten Me. It doesn’t intimidate Me. I can see it for what it is. It is the low road. It is the base way. It is the broad and self-serving, self-pleasing way of the wicked. They have tried to drag many down with them. They have not been as successful in that as they had hoped. I have snatched many, yes many, many from their hands. The wicked will continue on their path. The wicked will continue in their dark way. But now I Am removing My Presence from them. This is not unlike the moment when I told Satan when he entered Judas to do what he was going to do quickly. I will leave them on their dark way, to construct and try to execute their dark plan. But the trap that they set will come down upon them forcefully, hard and in an instant when no one expects it. It will come down as a flash of brilliant light, and they will be no more.
”“But you—my servant, Israel, Jacob, whom I’ve chosen, seed of my beloved friend Abraham — I drew you to myself from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corner. I say to you: ‘You are my servant; I have chosen you. I have not rejected you! Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from me, for I am your faithful God. I will infuse you with my strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with my victorious right hand.’ “All who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced. All who contend with you will perish and disappear. You will look for your enemies in vain; those who war against you will vanish without a trace! I am Yahweh, your mighty God! I grip your right hand and won’t let you go! I whisper to you: ‘Don’t be afraid; I am here to help you!’“
Isaiah 41:8-13 TPT
Trust Me to silence, to shut out and to neutralize the wicked. That’s why you must be busy about your Father’s business. Where your toiling continually faces intense pressure and opposition, a day is coming when the resistance will be broken. The resistance will completely break. Will you have built the strength to do the double-time, triple-time work? Will you have the alacrity, dexterity and endurance to build at twice or three times the speed where there is no resistance? The resistance training is building your endurance for the days of free building ahead — the days of uninhibited building, growth and running. Days of freedom that will require much speedy, determined, pre-planned, inspired building are ahead. Make sure you are laying the foundation, even against the winds and strains of adversity.
”I said, “I’ve worked and served for nothing. I have used up all my strength for nothing.” Yet my rights I leave in Yahweh’s hands, and my just reward is with my God. And now, the Lord Yahweh— who shaped me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob’s tribes back to him that Israel would be gathered back to him, for I am honored in the sight of Yahweh. I find the source of all my strength in my God— who says: “Is it too small a thing for you, my servant, to restore greatness to Jacob’s tribes and the survivors of Israel? I will make you to be a light to the nations and to bring the light of my salvation to the ends of the earth!” Yahweh, Israel’s Kinsman-Redeemer and Holy One, says to the one who is deeply despised and repulsed by rulers and a slave to the ruling class: “Kings will see and stand up in respect; princes will bow down to honor the faithfulness of Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” Yahweh says: “When the time of showing you favor has come, I will answer your heart’s cry. I will help you in the day of salvation, for I have fixed my eyes on you. I have made you a covenant people to restore the land and to resettle families on forgotten inheritances.“
Isaiah 49:4-8 TPT
Make sure you are sizing your structure for growth and rapid expansion. This is not a time for small-time thinking. This is a time to build and plan for a multiplicative future, to build for destiny and legacy — and for the biggest tent possible. Will you be equipped to run and build when the resistance is removed? Will your foundations and structures already be in place? Will you be in a position to add more rooms, add more levels? Or will you be staring at an empty lot saying I don’t even know where to start? Sit with Me. Dream with Me. Catch My vision that I have already placed in your heart. It’s time to dream big, and it is time to build even in these high winds of adversity, even in the highest winds of adversity many have ever seen or felt. What you are called to build needs to be built to last, to endure, to withstand. It’s the time to build for legacy.
How to Respond
- Trust the Lord. Dream big with the Lord. Don’t sit on the sidelines. Get busy with the work He has called you to do.
- Pray, Lord, show me where I am supposed to be building. Show me anywhere that I am dropping the ball or missing the mark. Help me to dream with You. Help me to dream bigger and keep a running list of dreams, so that when the day comes that the resistance breaks, I already know where we are going. I already have built the foundation and the structure atop which all of these bigger dreams can be built with You — with Your guidance, Your wisdom and Your help.
- Declare, these are days for building even in adversity and deep darkness. The Lord will catch the wicked in their own snare. He will neutralize them. My job is to keep building — and to build faithfully for legacy.
- Decree, I will not come down from my position. Like Nehemiah, I have my tool in one hand and my sword in the other. I am too busy doing a good work with the Lord to come down and waste time on the naysayers, the haters and the critics. I will build even in the resistance, so that when the Lord breaks the bounds of every resisting force, I will have the endurance and vision to build at double and triple the speed.
For more encouragement from Glory & the New Wine, check out the post from this day in years past:
2023: The King Will Return
2022: Great Is His Faithfulness & He Controls the Clock
2021: Rest & Adventure
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