How Leaders Overcome Opposition

Key Verse

Nehemiah 4:1 says, Now when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry and greatly enraged, and he jeered at the Jews.

How many times have you played “armchair consultant”? It is easy to know what to do and to have an opinion when you are NOT in charge. Nehemiah faced a great deal of opposition from Sanballat and Tobiah while he was leading the rebuilding of the wall. It began as taunts and childish jeers, but quickly escalated to threats from all sides. Finally, the enemy used one of his favorite tactics, discouragement, to try to stop progress to the building of the wall.

We are all leaders, and we all face opposition. We need to remember that we are working for an audience of ONE. We need to pray, be proactive, and remember why we are doing the task in front of us.

Questions to discuss as a family today

1. Where do the jeers come from in your life (as a parent, leader at work, friendships)? Where are the potential “cracks” that can hurt you emotionally, physically, or spiritually? You may need to help each other see where these vulnerable areas are in each other’s lives.

2. How are you proactive in using the resources you have to help match your prayers? Example…Do you pray for your children to be Christ-followers that honor the Lord with their lives? How do you “match” that prayer? Table Talk, God moments, celebrating milestones…

3. How do you overcome discouragement in…

Fatigue – Do you rest enough?

Frustration – Do you see how far have you come?

Failures – Do you remember that God is able?

Fear – Do you have faith to remember that God called you to this?

Prayer

Praise God for who He is, and ask Him to show you where the opposition is coming from in your life. Confess to Him where you are discouraged, and ask Him to inspire you to use the resources available to you in order to be proactive when the opposition comes. Pray Romans 15:13 and Hebrews 12:1-3 and thank God that you can fix your eyes on Jesus. Ask Him to turn your discouragement into encouragement.

Now, go TAKE A NAP!