King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Determined To Succeed
Date: Thursday May 24, 2012
Today's Chapters: Nehemiah 1-3

Hello My Friend,

When we take the steps to live our lives for Christ we can be sure that we are going to face some opposition, but as long as we keep working with faith we can break through any obstacle we encounter. God blesses us when we are determined to succeed with His help. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” - 1 Peter 5:6-9.

The Book of Nehemiah is the sixteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains thirteen chapters. The author of the book is Nehemiah and it was originally written to the Jews. The timeline for these events are approximately 446 BC to 434 BC. The purpose of the book was to continue showing the history of Israel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. What we are to learn from the book is that there will always be opposition whenever we choose to serve God, but work without faith is dead. “And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work was wrought of our God.” - Nehemiah 6:16.

About ten years after Ezra gathered people to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem a relative of Nehemiah's arrived in Persia and told Nehemiah of the conditions that still existed there. Nehemiah, who knew the Scriptures and the power of prayer and fasting, stood before God. “And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.” - Nehemiah 1:5,6,8,9.

Nehemiah reminded God of the promise He made to His people, even though they were scattered all over the world, he knew one day they would come together as one in God's Kingdom. While God does not need reminders of His promises He does like to know that we acknowledge His Word and have faith in it. I glanced at something that said, “How much faith we have in God is how much we will receive from Him.” It makes sense, that little seed of faith can move mountains, but imagine what He can do with the mountains if we have more faith. “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” - Matthew 17:20,21.

Nehemiah left all the luxuries of home, and, by faith, headed for Jerusalem, when he arrived he was devastated at the conditions of the place where God put His name. He gathered willing hearts to rebuild the walls, “Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.” - Nehemiah 2:17-20.

Nehemiah knew that God was on his side and that as long as he was in His will he had nothing to fear. Of course, the closer we draw near to God the more opposition we will face from the devil. He will send many people and objects in our path to try and stop us from being so faithful to God. However, God gives us the power to stand up and continue to do His work without fear. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7.

Nehemiah did not let those opposing him get to him, he was determined to repair the walls, he gathered as many willing hearts as he could find and section by section they began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. “Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel. And next unto him builded the men of Jericho. And next to them builded Zaccur the son of Imri. But the fish gate did the sons of Hassenaah build, who also laid the beams thereof, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof.” - Nehemiah 3:1-3.

There are three basic characteristics that contributed to Nehemiah's success. First, he has a desire to do the will of God. Second, he not only prayed, he fasted, and confessed his sins as well. Third, he never gave up and was determined to get the people to join him in rebuilding the walls. He refused to become discouraged and give up on accomplishing God's will, regardless of any opposition he faced. We are to have the same characteristics if we want to see some amazing blessings in our lives. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” - Hebrews 13:5-8.

Success God's way is never the path of least resistance, but we can be confident and follow the will of God knowing that He is determined by our determination to succeed with His help. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” - Matthew 7:13,14.

Today's Psalm: 37:7 - “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.”

Today's Proverb: 28:13 - “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

Today's Prayer: God, As Your child I know I can do all things through Christ, but I know I have let obstacles discourage me into giving up. Lord, give me Your power to break through every obstacle, give me Your power to have confidence in You, to trust You in every decision made in Your will. Help me to let go of any obstacles that keep me from moving forward. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

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