Daily Devotional

Every generation has its version of slang. In the 1920s, for example, "The bees knees" was an extraordinary person or thing, "Putting on the Ritz" meant to do something with style, and "iron one’s shoelace" meant to excuse yourself to the bathroom...(not quite sure I understand that last one). Today, due to the rise in the popularity of comic books, the term archenemy is one that almost everyone is familiar with, but many people that I’m around might refer to them as haters. The Urban Dictionary defines a hater as "a person who simply can't be happy for another person's success, so they make a point of exposing flaws in that person...simply to bring them down a notch." Everyone has experienced dealing with haters before, but how are we to continue doing what is right when people are actively against us?

In today's passage, we see Nehemiah dealing with this very thing. These haters of Israel were trying to get Nehemiah to come down off the wall so they could harm him. Yet Nehemiah's response is so powerful: "I am doing a great work and cannot come down." There are two things that I notice in his response. The first is that Nehemiah refused to stoop down to the level of his haters. Yet, when it comes to our response, we often give attention and time to those who do not deserve it. The second thing was that Nehemiah's focus and priority were on his commitment to God's assignment in his life. The application here is that when God has called us and given us an assignment, we are to refuse to let the enemy distract us through other people.

Doing the right thing is difficult at times. It doesn't always feel good. In fact, the Bible encourages us in Galatians 6:9 not to grow weary in doing good for the simple fact that it's not always easy. Yet, the promise is that we will reap what we sow when we continue doing the right thing. May we surrender and recommit all of our ways to the Lord today. Allow your haters to be your motivators. Not bending or yielding to the voice of others, but rather being intentional about doing what God has called us to do, even when it's hard.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.