SCRIPTURE READING: Psalm 46:1-3, 10-11
Have you ever known someone that you would say was an “eternal optimist?” Did they ever drive you crazy? Did you ever think, “Man, can’t you be upset about anything?” There aren’t too many people that you could file under that category. But, in December of 1914, a 67-year-old man watched as his life’s work was being burned to the ground. Adding insult to injury, his property was only insured for $238,000 - far less than the $2 million worth of damage. His twenty-four-year-old son, Charles, said, “My heart ached for him. He was sixty-seven, no longer a young man, and everything was going up in flames.”
When Charles found his father, he was surprised by his dad’s request. He said, “Find your mother and bring her here. She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.” The next morning the older man gathered his employees at the charred ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster. All of our mistakes are burned up. Thank God that we can start anew.” And, start anew he did. Three weeks later, Thomas Edison delivered his first phonograph.
We all have disasters and disappointments to face in this life. We all face times of discouragement. But, in those times of despair, we have a choice to make. We can crumble under the weight of self-pity, and wonder “why me?”. Or, we can allow it to be a time of renewal, and an opportunity to learn.
After the nation of Israel had been in captivity in Babylon, they returned to Jerusalem to find the city in ruins. Two men took upon themselves the leadership roles necessary to help rebuild the temple, and the city walls. They were Ezra, and Nehemiah. Now, Ezra faced a great deal of difficulty in getting the temple rebuilt, due to some strife with their northern enemies. But, eventually, the temple was rebuilt.
Several years later, Nehemiah led the nation in an attempt to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They, too, faced some especially difficult times, and some discouragements. But, they were able to overcome them, and successfully complete the project. What I want us to focus on today is in Nehemiah, chapter 4. What we’re going to find here is several suggestions on how we, today, can also overcome times of discouragement.
Nehemiah 4:1-3
I. Refuse to Listen to Nay-Sayers
A. Now, what we have here in Sanballat and Tobiah are two men much like those we face today. We’ll call them the “nay-sayers.” Do you have any nay-sayers in your life? I think we’ve all had to face people like Sanballat and Tobiah. The kind of people who want to discourage any good idea we may have. The kind of people who want to ridicule any project we take on. They make an already difficult task that much harder. And, it often discourages us.
Well, we can overcome discouragement, if we will refuse to listen to those nay-sayers in our lives. We can’t allow ourselves to be influenced by their negativity. We can’t permit their pessimism to slow us down.
Now, you may be thinking, “Well, sure, it’s a nice thing to say you won’t be effected by negative comments or actions, but it’s a lot easier said than done.” And, you’re absolutely right. It’s not an easy task to let those hurtful comments go in one ear and out the other. But, notice how Nehemiah handles it. Where does he turn? vv. 4-5.
Nehemiah prays. I encourage you, this week, to read through the book of Nehemiah. It’s not a real long book - just 13 chapters. One of the things you’ll notice about Nehemiah is that he was a man devoted to prayer. You’ll see numerous incidents like this one, where the first thing he does when faced with a difficult situation, is turn to God in prayer. And, we know that in this instance, it worked. Notice the first words of verse 6 - “So we built the wall.”
So, if we will keep our eyes, and our hearts focused on the Lord, and on His will, we can overcome the discouragement we receive at the hands of those nay-sayers.
II. Have a Mind to Work
A. Another way that we see Nehemiah’s crew overcome discouragement is found in the rest of verse 6 - “And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” “The people had a mind to work.” Let’s think about that for a minute. What Nehemiah is saying here is that the people of Israel weren’t deterred by the words of Sanballat and Tobiah because they were keeping themselves busy with the task at hand.
There’s a story of a man named Mr. Brown who ran a clinic for rich women who didn’t have much to do. They had been idle so long together that their nerves got the best of them. They imagined all sorts of things wrong with themselves as they grumbled about their aches and pains.
Mr. Brown and his wife were getting rich listening to them and babying them. Then one of the women made a few repairs on her old clothes, and she gave them to the needy. Another woman took notice then did the same. Soon most of them were repairing old clothes. Then, one delivered her repaired clothes and came back excited about how the poor folks had received them.
Then all the women repaired clothes and delivered them to the poor families. And, the result? Mr. Brown and his wife found their clinic empty. Because, the women had found purpose in life. The clinic was no longer needed.
If we allow ourselves enough time to sit around and think about all the horrible things in this world, or enough time to think about all the discouraging people in our lives, then we will never be able to overcome discouragement. But, if we can learn the lesson of Nehemiah, and have a mind to work, then we will be too busy to worry about all of the negative possibilities that are out there. We won’t have time to be concerned over what might go wrong, or what could be a discouragement.
There are numerous opportunities right here at Holly Hill for us to be involved in. So many ways in which we can keep ourselves busy. And, if we will “have a mind to work,” then we can accomplish much for the kingdom of the Lord, without getting discouraged.
III. Remember Who’s On Your Side
A. Well, when Sanballat and Tobiah, and other leaders of nations around Israel, saw that their taunting didn’t stop the Israelites from continuing to build the walls of Jerusalem, they became angry. Perhaps it was jealousy, perhaps it was a fear of the nation of Israel becoming powerful again. But, for whatever reason, they began to plot against the Israelites, and were ready to launch an attack.
Word of this reached Nehemiah, and the Israelites. Now, you can imagine the fear these people must have had when they heard of this. All they were trying to do was build a wall, and now these other nations are about to attack them and kill them in order to stop them. So, what do you think Nehemiah did? Verse 9 says, “And we prayed to our God.” After praying, they set a guard up for protection.
But, this still didn’t ease the minds of many who were there. So, notice what Nehemiah says to them in verse 14 - “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.” Don’t be afraid, why? “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome.” A similar message to the verses that were read to us earlier from Psalm 46.
In our own times of discouragement, it would do us a great deal of good if we could remember the Lord. Remember who it is that’s on your side. Remember who it is that has helped you through difficult times in the past. Remember who it is that parted the Red Sea, that took Elijah up in a chariot of fire, that made the blind to see and the deaf to hear. If our God can do these amazing things, then surely He can help us through those discouraging times.
IV. Stick Together
A. Lastly, this morning, let’s read vv. 21-23. The people were still being threatened. So, they had to protect themselves in any way possible. And the best way for them to do that was to stick together. They would all stay within the walls of Jerusalem at night. And they would all be on guard with sword or spear.
When we encounter our own trials and times of discouragement, one of the greatest opportunities we have for overcoming it is right here. Right here in this church is a group of people who have all faced discouragement. Who have all fought with pessimism, and doubt. And that’s what makes it so important that we utilize this resource we have available to us.
God has given us this church family, not just so that we can come and worship Him; and not just so that we can do good things for this community; but also as a means to overcoming our trials by working together. No Christian should ever feel that they are alone in their struggles. Because we have the opportunity to join together, as the nation of Israel did, and stand against those outside forces that would attempt to dishearten us.
V. Conclusion
A. James J. Corbett was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 1892. Someone once asked him what was the most important thing a man must do to become a champion. He replied, "Fight one more round."
The Duke of Wellington said that the British soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo were not any braver than Napoleon’s soldiers--but they were brave for five minutes longer.
When faced with discouragement, we need to remember to "fight just one more round. And, be brave for five more minutes." That will often be the difference between victory and defeat. So, let’s not forget how we can overcome discouragement. We can overcome discouragement by refusing to listen to those nay-sayers in life. We can overcome discouragement by having a mind to work, and keeping ourselves busy. We can overcome discouragement by remembering that God Almighty is on our side. And, we can overcome discouragement by taking advantage of this network of faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.
Is that what you need this morning? . . . .
