Maximizing Your Potential

There are several levels of anger. At first your critic may be annoyed by you, but if you persist in your work, he becomes incensed. Sanballat, Tobiah, and their associates became incensed by the continued work on the walls of Jerusalem and committed themselves to destroying the potential of Nehemiah and the other workers who were rebuilding the city. They all [Sanballat and his cohorts] plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we [Nehemiah and the other workers] prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat (Nehemiah 4:8-9). Nehemiah responded to this new threat the same way he had answered the last one. He prayed to God instead of answering his critics. He also added a second line to his defense. He posted a guard. This is the second guideline for protecting your potential. Post a guard to lessen the likelihood of attack. When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work (Nehemiah 4:15). This reveals a third means of protecting your potential from attack. Allow God to fight for you. The workers stood guard, but God frustrated the plans of the attackers. The Israelites relied on Him to fight for them: Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us! (Nehemiah 4:20) For a while, Nehemiah and his helpers worked in peace. Yet, they did not let down their guard. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked (Nehemiah 4:16-18a). Thus, they employed a fourth means for protecting their potential from attack. Don’t allow a lull in the battle to convince you that the war is over. Don’t confuse quiet with peace. Finally, when Nehemiah’s enemies received word that the wall had been completely rebuilt, they sent a message to request a meeting: Come, let us meet together in one of the villages... (Nehemiah 6:2b). Nehemiah wisely countered this as well, recognizing it for a different kind of attack: But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:2c-3) This reply reveals a fifth and a sixth means of protecting your potential from