MONDAY June 5, 2017
Strengthen Our Hands
Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands. - Nehemiah 6:9
Whenever Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem insisted that Nehemiah meet with them, he refused. Nehemiah did not depend on his own strength to fight his enemies. He turned to the Lord in prayer and he was able to deal with their constant attacks through God’s strength. If Nehemiah would have left his position in Jerusalem, and compromised, he would have gone into eternity early. Nehemiah through the Lord’s strength and wisdom protected himself. He did not place himself in a vulnerable situation. Instead he was smart enough to send messengers with his reply.
Seriously, there are times to go into difficult situations boldly. When you know the Lord is with you and He has gone before you. Daniel’s friends,Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,refused to bow down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They were bold. As a result they were cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace (Daniel 3:5-6), but God was with them. The king was astonished. He saw four men, unharmed by the flames. One of them was described in appearance as the Son of God (Daniel 3:25).
Yet, there are other times when we cannot go into a bad situation. King Saul wanted to kill David. It would have been unwise for David to stand before the king and try to reason with him. Saul, in rage, even cast a spear at his own son, Jonathan. (1 Samuel 20:33). After that happened Jonathan knew that his father was determined to kill David. As friends, Jonathan and David had devised a plan. David would escape Saul (1 Samuel 20).
Over the last forty five years of ministry, there have been difficult situations in my life. Unless the Lord had strengthened me, I could not have dealt with them. Spiritual attacks from Satan cannot be endured without the Lord.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
~Psalm 27:1~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!