Don't Stop! The Warfare is Strategic

Dear Friend,

I want you to know that the warfare you might be experiencing in this season is strategic. The strategic plan the enemy is launching against you is called intimidation, intended to slow your progress.

Yesterday, I taught a message entitled, The Halfway Point, that I encourage you to watch. In the teaching, we looked at the book of Nehemiah from the perspective of His enemies, and you'd be surprised at what we discovered.

Discovery #1

When Sanballat and Tobiah launched the first leg of their intimidation campaign, they did so first to question the audacity of the Israelites. Not just any nerve but their audacity to seek freedom.

In Nehemiah 2:19, Sanballat asks, "What is this you are doing?" This isn't a simple question. In fact, it's equivalent to the enemy saying, "How dare you obey God? How dare you think you can break free? How dare you move forward?" Why would the enemy say this??? He is shocked that you dare to fight him because he has oppressed everyone else in your family.

Discovery #2

The enemy wants to convince you you're weak and unable to defeat him. Take a look at the series of questions that Sanballat asks Nehemiah 4:2:

“What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?”

Sanballat calls the Jews feeble, which means weak, inferior, and lacking authority or strength. Of course, he knows they aren't any of these things, but if he can get them to believe they are, they will continue to oppress themselves. Remember, he is saying this in earshot of them.

Discovery #3

The enemy is afraid that you'll finish and free yourself. Take a look at the second question in verse 2.

NIV: "Will they restore their wall?"

KJV: "Will they fortify themselves?"

Do you know what fortify means? It means to set free. Ultimately, embedded in his line of questioning is his fear that if they complete the wall, then they will free themselves. Therefore, their freedom is directly attached to the completion of the wall, just like your freedom is linked to completing what God told you to do.

Discovery #4

The enemy is trying to convince you that what you're building is insignificant. Nehemiah 4:3 reveals,

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of