“Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands” (Nehemiah 6:9).

Nehemiah is engaged in a tremendous ministry of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. He is surrounded by enemies that are committed to causing the building project to fail. Not only did they try to lure him away from Jerusalem to assassinate him, now they are promoting a false rumor to assassinate his character. Nehemiah briefly addresses the rumor, sets the record straight, and now petitions his God for strength to get back to the work. We seem to be living in a day and age when everyone has protected rights except the Christian. Our culture and society are seriously beginning to squeeze in and make life much more difficult and challenging for Christians. You may be having a hard time at work, at school, or in your neighborhood. Don’t be surprised if somebody says something untrue about you. Nehemiah is a good example. He very briefly told the truth and then asked God to help him to be faithful to his work. What a great example for us!

For today: Let’s ask the Lord to help us to live so faithfully that no one will believe a false report about us. We have lots of work to do for the Lord!