DECIDE SMART: PICK YOUR FIGHTS

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” Nehemiah 6:3

REFERENCE
Nehemiah 6:1-9

Fights are either good or bad. Paul told Timothy in I Timothy 6:12 to ‘fight the good fight of faith.’ However, certain fights are unnecessary distractions. Understand that every fight you get into will cost you time, energy and affect your state of mind; these are all assets God has given you to fulfill your purpose in life, pursue your dreams, further your career, build your marriage, take your start-up to the next level, etc.

In the course of life people will insult you, not believe in you, treat you unjustly, carry out smear campaigns against you, spread lies about you, etc. And all the devil really wants to achieve with these things is to break your focus, sap your energy and mess with your mind. However, you must learn to ignore these things and keep your focus on your goal/journey in life.

Nehemiah was on an assignment to build a great work for God when Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem the Arab all rose up against him. They spread lies about him and tried to distract him so he could lose focus of his assignment. They deployed sinister strategies to lure him into a fight or war of words, but Nehemiah was smart enough not to fall for their tricks. He decided not to expend his energy on an unnecessary distraction of the enemy (devil). Thus he was able to fulfill his purpose. Like late Pastor Ina Omakwu once said, Nehemiah must have responded to them, “Oh no, I will not go to the plain of Ono to fight.”

There is a popular folklore about a man who went to take his bath in a public bathroom. He hung his clothes on the bathroom door as he took his bath. Unfortunately, a madman who passed by the bathroom took his clothes and ran away. Instead of calling for help, the man came out of the bathroom and chased after the madman. The townspeople became confused because they couldn’t differentiate the madman from the sane one. That man picked the wrong fight to fight with his decision to go after the madman.

Now there are battles that are constituted mostly of spiritual warfare which will contend with your marriage, destiny, purpose, vision, children, etc. These you must fight primarily on your knees, girded with the whole armor of God.

Pick your fights; don’t allow the enemy to break your focus! Make a smart decision by investing your precious time in your destiny.

ADDITIONAL STUDY
Proverbs 26:4-5; 17 & Ephesians 6:12-18.

PRAYER POINT

Ask for wisdom to discern the fights that are constantly before you; that you will not fall into the temptation of expending your energy on an unnecessary distraction; rather, you will fight the good fight of faith at all times.