The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Nehemiah 6:2-3, “Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, ‘Come, let us meet together at Chephirim in the plain of Ono.’ But they were planning to harm me. 3So I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’”

It was a terrible time for the Jewish people! The Temple in Jerusalem was in ruins and the walls of the city were down. Everything was in need of repair. Nehemiah appealed to King Artaxerxes to allow him to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls and the Temple. The king not only granted Nehemiah permission to go, he authorized much of the material needed to effect the rebuilding. He only wanted to know how long Nehemiah intended to be gone. But, there would be opposition awaiting when he got there!

Some people seem to believe that their primary –if not their only— reason for living is to aggravate and agitate the people, who want to get things done! Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were the epitome of discouragers. Oh, their voices “sounded” pleasant enough, but what they harbored in their hearts was far from what they said aloud in the hearing of others. Have you ever met anyone like that? Sure, you have. They appealed to Nehemiah to meet and discuss things with them. “Oh, no!” (Ono), said Nehemiah, for he was aware that “they were planning to harm (him).”

Notice, however, that Nehemiah did not simply ignore them altogether. Instead, he “sent messengers to them…” It is a polite gesture to respond to such people, so long as you recognize their evil intentions and don’t invite them to know of your ongoing plans. The message, too, said it all quite politely, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”

Nehemiah wasn’t kidding. The work he was doing was “a great work”; besides, he had given King Artaxerxes a definite time for his return. There just was no time for those who only wanted to discourage and destroy his “great work.”

There’s probably a lot I could add here, but somehow, I don’t think more commentary from me is needed. You know when you’re doing the LORD’s work; and you know how vital time is. There are a lot of “things” that want to get into your way. No question about it, those “things” are appealing. Moreover, they are distractingly appealing! They come packaged with all the glitter that says, “If you had this, you could do that.” But is that your calling? No, it’s not!

Someone once said, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” And remember that whatever the LORD calls you to do, is

“the main thing.” God bless you! Start this New Year right: Stay in the Word and Prayer every single day!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”