An Encourager That Motivates
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
The world is filled with “blessing snatchers.” These are the individuals who can find something bad in everything. They feel called to play the role of the devil’s advocate, even though the devil doesn’t need any help. They are quick to object and always have a reason why something can’t be done. Dripping with negativity, they put a damper on life. Many of these pessimistic people who see only the dark side of life probably don’t realize how discouraging they are to others. Sanballat and Tobiah in Nehemiah 4 represent the worst of these types, as they oppose the work of God and ridicule those who are trying to do God’s will. “What they are building—even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!”(verse 3).
Nehemiah was an encourager. Encouragers motivate others to courageously continue on. When Nehemiah heard the insults of Sanballat and Tobiah, he prayed (see verse 4), and the people continued working with all their hearts. This only caused the enemy to unite against them, but Nehemiah prayed again and then stationed guards. The enemy continued to chip away by spreading lies.
Propaganda is an effective weapon in war. An army can be defeated without weapons if they become discouraged and believe the lies of the enemy. Listen to the discouraging tone of the rumor mill: “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall. Also our enemies said, ‘Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work’” (verses 10-11). Such is the work of terrorists in this world.
Nehemiah countered again by stationing half the people for defensive purposes. Then he gave a speech to all the people and said, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes” (verse 14). The people’s fear was abated when they remembered the Lord, and they returned to their task of rebuilding the wall. God had frustrated the plans of the enemy (see verse 15). When the walls were completed and the enemy heard about it, “all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:16).
We may not have leaders like Nehemiah to encourage us, but we can always encourage ourselves in the Lord as David did when he was “greatly distressed . . . but David found strength in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). When we feel discouraged, we should remember that God is great and awesome. He will meet all our needs, and we can do everything through Christ who strengthens us (see Philippians 4:13,19). Therefore, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25). When you encourage someone, you give that person the courage to run the race with endurance.
Questions to consider:
What effect did the words of Sanballat and Tobiah have on the people of Israel?
How did Nehemiah seek to counter this attack from the enemy? What can we learn from that?
Why are some of the avenues for discouragement?
What or who has caused discouragement in your life?
How can you go from being a “blessing snatcher” to being an encourager?
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.