We worked early and late, from sunrise to sunset. And half the men were always on guard. (Nehemiah 4:21)
“So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4:6 NASB). Critics demoralise. Leaders encourage. When the critics spoke, the workmen heard them and were demoralised. But when their leader stepped up and said, “Let’s look at it God’s way; stay with the job,” the crew members were back in there with those trowels and wheelbarrows, putting together the stone and the mortar, building the gates and the hinges.
Sometimes criticism doesn’t die down—it intensifies. What did Nehemiah do when confronted with continued harassment? As was his custom, he intensified his prayer: “But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night” (Nehemiah 4:9 NASB). The intensified opposition might have knocked him down, but it was a long way from knocking him out.
Intensified opposition against the will of God calls for an intensified response. Occasionally persistence in the form of common sense must prevail. Out of a job? Pray! But pound the pavement too. Send out the resume. Make contacts. The Lord doesn’t have any trouble guiding a moving target. In fact, it’s easier to steer a moving vehicle than one that is immobile.
It is impossible to lead anyone without facing opposition. The leader must learn to take the heat. It is essential to face opposition in prayer. The first response to opposition must be prayer—it is the single most often overlooked discipline in the Christian life among leaders. And if the leader has prayed and is still facing intensified opposition, he or she must use common sense. You are never more successful than when you make your plans, advance your cause, and overcome your obstacles on your knees in prayer. The leader who advances on his knees need never retreat.
