Nehemiah 4:14
And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

Work on the wall was progressing, but there were some people opposing the Israelites, mocking them and wanting to fight against them to hinder this work.  People were getting discouraged.  The work was hard, and those added burdens didn’t help.  But Nehemiah gives the people an important reminder.  They have no need to fear because God is with them.  This is the cure for their fear, the remedy for their doubts and discouragement.  It wasn’t just the fact that God was with them; it was a great and terrible God who was with them.

Let us remember that we are not alone in our battles and our struggles.  We are not alone when enemies come against us to threaten us and hinder the work we are trying to do for the Lord.  We are not forced to face everything in our own strength.  We are not hopeless and we are not without help.  We have a great God on our side, a mighty God who is more than capable of delivering us from these enemies that surround us.  We just simply need to look to Him and trust Him.

So let us have the courage to fight the battles we need to.  Let’s stand up for God and His truths and the work He is doing.  Let’s fight for our families, our fellow Christians, our churches, our homes.  And let’s fight those personal battles that we sometimes have to deal with.  We can go out encouraged that not only is God on our side, but others are fighting those same battles alongside us.  There is strength from those who have fought before and those who are fighting with us now.

Doing the right thing does not guarantee us an easy path ahead.  In fact, doing the Lord’s work almost always means opposition from the world in some way.  But we don’t have to let that shake us.  We don’t have to cower and hide and give up what we’re doing.  And we don’t have to fear that we will somehow be overcome.  Let us always remember, no matter the severity of our trial, our Lord who is with us.  Let’s remember the attributes of the great God who is on our side.  And let us be strengthened to move forward how He wants us to.