God's call for you (5)

Nehemiah took on God's mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. What a privilege to be called to do that! But he faced tough opposition: heavy criticism and even threats to his life. The reality is, when we follow a call God has for our lives (no matter how big or small), there may be opposition. We may find we're struggling to carry out that call. Nehemiah's workers were ready for the struggle; they were building with a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.

When we've a deep sense of God's approval and conviction for a call, it's important to get ourselves grounded in it. Keeping a record of the times we've prayed, and the ways we've found God responds, is a good way of doing this (we mentioned getting a journal yesterday), as well as listing some helpful Bible verses. Then, when we find ourselves facing opposition, even from our own doubts, those words will become our defence - our 'sword.'

Let's take 'following God's call' seriously. We'll find we come alive when God gives us our mission. It's so, so worth catching hold of God's short- and long-term plans for our life.



So what now? Write a Bible verse about God's protection down (let's call it your sword-verse). Write one about how to build your life around him on another piece of paper (your trowel-verse). Hold one in each hand and pray for him to direct you in his plan. Keep them close for frequent use.





— SCRIPTURE —

'The masons and labourers worked with weapons.' Nehemiah 4:17 TLB
— SOULFOOD —

Gal 1-3, Matt 18:21-35, Ps 119:105-112 , Pro 18:9