Maximizing Your Potential

and you are going to be under attack. Then it is time to move from guarding your potential to protecting it. Paul admonished the Ephesians to stand their ground and, after doing everything else, still to stand. Perseverance is the key. You may not win the war in one battle, but you can stand firm in the midst of each assault. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul—all persevered through numerous battles to emerge victorious. At times they faltered and failed, but they always returned to the battle. You too must persevere when the forces of evil threaten to overwhelm you to destroy your potential. The story of Nehemiah offers some hints on how to do this. How to Protect Yourself From Attack Nehemiah, a common man, had a job as the cupbearer of the Persian king in whose land he was an exile. When he heard of the plight of his former countrymen who had not been carried into exile and the sorry state of the city of Jerusalem, he mourned for them and asked God to help him return to Jerusalem so he could rebuild the city. God heard his prayer and granted him favor in the king’s sight so that the king gave Nehemiah both his permission to return to Jerusalem and the resources to begin rebuilding the city. Not everyone, however, was happy that Nehemiah was taking an interest in the well-being of the city and its inhabitants. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard about this, they were very much disturbed that someone had come to promote the welfare of the Israelites (Nehemiah 2:10). Even though Nehemiah was trying to do something beneficial, these fellows were angered by his plans. So they started to make trouble for him. “What is this you are doing?" they asked. “Areyou rebelling against the king?” (Nehemiah 2:19b) But Nehemiah was not to be deterred. He gathered workers together and began to rebuild the gates and the walls of Jerusalem. This incensed Sanballat further so that he began to ridicule the Jews: What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are? (Nehemiah 4:2b) Tobiah joined in his mocking: What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones! (Nehemiah 4:3b) Nehemiah did not reply to their ridicule. Instead, he turned to the Lord in prayer (see Nehemiah 4:4-5) and kept on with the work. This illustrates the first guideline for protecting your potential. Don’t answer your critics.