Today’s word by Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood church: Keep Your Focus.
Today’s Scripture: Nehemiah 4:1–2, NIV – When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and..said, “What are those feeble Jews doing?… Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble–burned as they are?”
Today’s Word: When Nehemiah was leading the people in the rebuilding of the walls around Jerusalem, two men, Sanballat and Tobiah, did all they could to stop them, trying to bait Nehemiah into conflict and discourage the people with threats and ridicule. But Nehemiah was smart enough to realize they were trying to deceive him into losing his focus to where he would spend his time and energy on something that didn’t matter.
There will always be Sanballats hurling insults, always be Tobiahs trying to agitate you, get under your skin, damage your reputation. Most of the people who come against us are simply distractions. The negative comments, the disrespect, and the insults are bait, trying to pull us off course. The good fight of faith is not to straighten them out; it’s to keep your focus on your wall rebuilding. Your time is too valuable and your destiny is too great to get baited into battles that don’t matter. Let God fight those battles.
Prayer for Today: “Father, thank You that You have given me walls to rebuild and a purpose to fulfill. Give me wisdom to know when something that is coming against me is simply a distraction that will get me off course. I believe that You are my defender and will fight those battles for me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Credit for Today’s word by Joel Osteen: joelosteen.com