How Good Leaders Get to the Finish Line

Read Nehemiah Chapter 6. Today we learned about the wall in Jerusalem being finished, but not before Nehemiah faced more opposition. Pastor Alex taught that knowing your finish line allows you to finish at the right pace. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem continued to try to get in the way of Nehemiah’s influence. They began by trying to distract him to get off the wall. Nehemiah was able to say no to wrong or excessive opportunities in order to say yes to the great. Next, Sanballat sent an “open letter” to Nehemiah with gossip, rumors, and lies. The “open letter” was a sign of disrespect because anyone could read it. It was not sealed. Nehemiah prayed and stayed focused on the task at hand, and looked to the approval of God over man. Finally, Nehemiah’s character was challenged. He was tempted to enter the temple for safety. Nehemiah was not a priest, and was not allowed to enter the temple. He was being tempted to be disobedient, but he kept his integrity. He did not compromise!

In all these advances of opposition, Nehemiah asked for discernment. We should too.

Questions to discuss as a family today

1. What is your finish line? At work? At school? At home? At life?

2. What do you need to say “no” to in order to stay focused on that Holy Spirit-given thing that you are giving your life for? How are you going to say no? When?

3. Fear gives us the permission to disobey, but faith gives us the permission to obey and run to the finish line. What is a source of fear that distracts you from “running well”? How does it tempt you to compromise your integrity?

Prayer

Spend some time worshipping God for who He is. Ask Him to make it crystal clear in you what you need to do to finish well at work, home, and in life. Confess to Him where you get distracted and try to please others by saying yes to too many good things. Ask Him to give you discernment as to what you should say no to. Finally, commit that you want to keep your integrity at all costs, and ask the Lord to give you protection, wisdom, and discernment to know when your integrity is being attacked. Confess to Him where you allow fear to keep you from living an abundant Life in Christ. Thank Him for His love and protection over your life and family, and commit to live for Him!