Staying Focused

We so often, at least me, get busy or sidetracked, and then wonder why we never get to our destination. It is really no different when we are doing the work of the Lord. Satan often puts people, things, or events in our path to trip us up, slow us down, distract us, sidetrack us, keep us from accomplishing His goal of sharing the Good News. And in this season, Satan wants nothing more than to keep us busy doing the worldly trappings of Christmas so as to keep us from focusing on the hopeful waiting that is Advent.  

In Nehemiah Chapter 6, we see an interaction between Nehemiah and outsiders. These outsiders, maybe even agents of Satan, wanted nothing more than to keep Nehemiah busy and distract him from building as protective wall around Jerusalem. They wanted him to come down off the wall. The city wall had been destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25) and Jerusalem remained wall-less for almost a century and a half. Without a wall, the Jews in Jerusalem were defenseless against their enemies. Without the ways you show people Jesus, they too are defenseless against Satan’s lies and attacks. 

Verses 1 and 2 tell us the enemy knew Nehemiah was building a rock solid wall around the city and tried to entice him to pause that work for a short time and meet two men for coffee in a neutral location, no strings attached, just some friendly chatter. Sound familiar? The enemy doesn’t always come looking like the grim reaper; he often comes looking harmless.

Here is how Nehemiah responded when Sanballar and his buddy Geshem (two of Nehemiah’s biggest antagonists) invited him to a coffee and blueberry muffin break. In v.3 we read- “And I sent messengers to them saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’”

They kept at it. The text tells us the two dudes were relentless, asking Nehemiah five times. Undoubtedly Nehemiah was probably worn down but each time, he rebuked their request (temptation). We must be intentional in our unwillingness to “come down off the wall” and not be sidetracked by the crafty serpent, often dressed as more shopping and wrapping, another holiday concert, an ugly sweater party, travel plans. Even a church calendar full of special events or reading one more blog post might in fact be keeping you from dialing it down enough to find the quietness of an uncluttered heart.

I encourage you to read story this in context, all of Nehemiah 6.

And right now, with twelve days left until Christmas, that busyness and those distractions are likely magnified. There is so much to do. So many people to see. So many gifts to wrap. So many parties to attend. It is easy to miss the true meaning of Advent – the expectant waiting for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Advent calls us to be alert and ready, not distracted by all the trappings of the season.  

My encouragement to you is to enjoy all that these next twelve days offer but stay focused on quieting yourself in order to have the expectant hope offered by the birth of a baby. Not just any baby. A baby who is Immanuel, God with us. Don’t come down off the wall.

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