What Gets In Your Way?

We don’t think about it as much as we should, but we are all building legacies, relationships, reputations, and the like. We can get incredibly focused on our work as we build these parts of our lives, and we can also be neglectful of our families, marriages, or spiritual lives. Our patterns and habits, as well as our convictions, often determine our attention to the project at hand – i.e., what we are building.

We can get distracted, making it difficult to succeed in being good fathers, husbands, and work associates. On top of a lack of focus, we have issues that come along that make it challenging to be strong finishers. Currently, we are moving through a list of strongholds that get in the way of a healthy lifestyle. For instance, we can get consumed with an issue when we are wronged, hold on to bitterness and resentment to our own detriment, or allow selfishness, greed, or materialism to get in the way of the building project we call LIFE. There is an endless list of things that can get in the way of what we are building.

Nehemiah

Check out the sixth chapter of Nehemiah. God led Nehemiah to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem and he had enemies that came first as detractors, but ultimately came to destroy him and the project. They came asking for a meeting, and when he refused, they came, again and again, asking for a meeting.

His response is one for the ages, and should often be our response. He said, “I am doing a mighty work and can’t come down” (Neh. 6:3).

Don’t Come Down

We are all building something. Either we are building a strong family, building reputations, or building a business. If we come down off the wall, the work won’t get finished. It takes conviction to do that. We can easily get distracted. There are many legitimate excuses that can get in the way of us doing our work. There are also the lies of the enemy that will deceive and distract us from the work of building a great legacy, a strong business, a strong marriage, or anything great.

So we stay committed to the call God put on our hearts. If we come down off the wall, our reputation, families, and our marriages could be destroyed. The temptation to run, give up, or take the bait and give up on our marriages is ever-present. We are building something really special, so the enemy will always call us to come down off the wall of what we are building.

Conviction

Our response should also be ever-present. “I am doing a mighty work and can’t come down!” We need to lock in with conviction. Without conviction to the call on our lives, it’s difficult. Ask God to lead and direct in such a way that you will not take the bait that is offered up. Remember, you are doing a mighty work, and nothing will get in the way of your project coming to completion.

Paul says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it” (Phil. 1:6). I’m glad our Heavenly Father doesn’t give up on us. Through his son Jesus, the work was finished when he gave up his life for us, rather than walking away. Jesus wouldn’t leave his post. He didn’t come down off the wall when he was in his darkest hour. As a result, he made a way for us by finishing the work on our behalf.

We also need to be finishers. This is the only way our legacy remains intact. As fathers, husbands, employers, employees, and in relationships. We don’t give up, and don’t take the bait when we tempted. We don’t come down off the foundations we are building. Remember, we are doing a mighty work, and we can’t come down!

Conviction—it is priceless!