“That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief” (Nehemiah 6:2).
TEXT — Nehemiah 6:1-4
Message
The diversionary tactic is a manipulative strategy often employed to shift people’s focus and frustrate their aspiration. It is usually intended to draw people’s attention away from something that you do not want them to think about or deal with. Sometimes, national governments adopt this tactic to sway citizens’ attention from an issue being clamoured for, to either gain time to address the issue, or prolong it until the people forget it completely.
Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem tried to use this tactic to get Nehemiah to stop the work of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem. They were not pleased that a protective wall was being built around the once devastated city. They also detested being excluded from the noble task, especially as all their attempts to stop the work had failed. They tried to shift his attention to less important issues. But he consistently declined their invitations. Seeing that Nehemiah would not budge, they decided to level charges against him, intended to halt the reconstruction work.
Devil and his agents still adopt this strategy today to distract believers. As the church determines to build the protective walls of the gospel around the lives of people and nations, the devil will rise in opposition to it. Sometimes, he brings up issues that do not have spiritual relevance and eternal importance. Sadly, many Christians and assemblies have fallen into this trap of the devil. This failure explains why Christianity is spreading slowly.
Believers must recognise the tactics of the devil and resist them. We must stay true to the one task Christ has given to us. Anything that will prevent us from fulfilling that mandate must be resisted. If we allow ourselves to be sidetracked, we cannot accomplish anything meaningful for the Lord.
Thought for the day
The believer that accomplishes much focuses only on the Lord.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.