When it came to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, Nehemiah discovered that not everyone around him wanted him to succeed. To stop the work, his enemies used two things – threats and rumours. Nevertheless he rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in less than two months. He stayed focused on what mattered and refused to be distracted by the words of others. ‘They were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “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?” Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer’ (Nehemiah 6:2-4 NIV). Over and over they tried to distract and divert him. But he refused to fight. When God calls us, other people’s words and opinions can stop us from stepping out and following His call. People criticise and doubt us. People can mock us for doing something that’s different from the status quo. But we have a choice. Do we let the words of others distract us from our purpose, or do we keep our eyes and minds focused on God and His call? The Bible says: ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you’ (Proverbs 4:25 NIV). When things are coming up against us, we need to have our eyes fixed firmly on what we’re doing. When we’re doing something for God, there’ll always be some kind of opposition. But with God’s help we can stay strong, stay focused, and complete the task He’s called us to.

What Now?

Next time you feel that you’re facing opposition and distraction while following God’s call, say to yourself: ‘I will keep focused on God and the task.’