Quiet Time: Don't Be Fooled Into Fearing

Don't Be Fooled Into Fearing

Nehemiah 6:10-14

He was hired for this reason, that I might become frightened and act accordingly and sin, so that they might have an evil report in order that they could reproach me – Nehemiah 6:13

Don’t let evil frighten you from doing good.

There’s a YouTube video of a huge bull mastiff dog being frightened by a little radio controlled mouse. It’s hilarious to watch this big gal lute dancing and prancing to avoid the bogus rodent when he could simply eliminate the supposed threat with a single chomp. You might say he was scared into being that which he was not.

Shemaiah wanted to bring the Hebrew’s new leader, Nehemiah, down. So Shem acted like God told him to tell Governor Nehemiah to hide in the temple and said that men were coming to kill him. However, Nehemiah wasn’t so easily fooled. He had a job to do; a holy calling on his life to lead God’s people and he wasn’t about to let his enemies dishearten him or discourage the people in the process. He knew who he was and from Whom his strength came. Nehemiah would rather die  than cower in self preservation. So, the work on Jerusalem’s wall progressed and the tide was turned. Instead of Nehemiah and his fellow Israelites becoming frightened the nations surrounding them saw what the Hebrews had accomplished and lost their confidence. They recognized that this work had been completed with the help of God (Nehemiah 6:16).

You know, there something pretty interesting in the YouTube video that I bet most people over look. There’s another dog in the picture. He’s acting as if the toy mouse doesn’t exist and almost looks amused by the mastiff’s goofy actions. The ruse has absolutely no affect on him. I guess the other dog just couldn’t be fooled into fearing.

Fear should never stop God's people from doing good.

“Holy courage and magnanimity will engage us, whatever it cost us, never to decline a good work, nor ever to do a bad one.” – Matthew Henry’s Commentary


Here’s the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8xy1YVSjBE