Sisters, OR
11 But I said, "Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!" 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me. Nehemiah 6: 10-14
Every year I apply for hunts in four western states: Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. I have been building points in Utah since 2003! In order to draw a premium deer tag it takes many years, dollars and a total commitment to the process. Drawing a tag is almost as exciting as the hunt, but not quite!
The excitement builds as the hunt approaches but somewhere in the middle of the hunt fatigue sets in. I get tired, dirty, and miss my family. Because of these factors mornings gets more difficult to get up, roll out of my bag, and get hunting. It is the easiest thing in the world to settle for nothing, forget the lengthy application processes, and end a hunt early but a hunter must to push through his emotional lows in order to experience hunting highs.
It is easy to walk away from conflict and difficult times
It is simple to walk away from our problems and issues. It is normal to walk in passivity when assertiveness is required. Procrastination will not help solve problems and apathy will not stand in the place of assertiveness. Today’s passage is a catalyst for men as we fight to overcome the temptation to be passive (Genesis 3:1-10). I am both inspired and convicted by Nehemiah’s response to death threats made upon his life.
Nehemiah knew with absolute conviction that running to the temple would be running away from the leadership of his people. To this point he had been a pillar of leadership for the Jewish people. His enemies, however, wanted him to cower, fold, and hide from, but Nehemiah stood with a clinched fist said, “Bring it!”
Nehemiah stands as a model for manhood.
When encroached by our enemies and confronted with conflict a man must reject passivity and engage through assertiveness. Do not retreat, do not give up, and most of all do not ignore the issues.
Instead, run to the problem.
Attack it.
Do not excuse it away. Do not down play it. Do not push it back. When conflict comes a man’s way his tendency is to ignore, procrastinate, essentially run from it in order to wait and see if time will cool things down. Sometimes this works but more often passivity is the wrong path to walk.
Take another approach. When confronted with a problem or conflict do not think about it. I pick up the phone and call. Don’t run from it. Deal with it.
In the words of Og Mandino in The Greatest Salesman in the World, “My procrastination which has held me back was born of fear and now I recognize this secret mined from the depths of all courageous hearts. Now I know that to conquer fear I must always act without hesitation and the flutter in my heart will vanish. Now I know that action reduces the lion of terror to an ant of equanimity.”
Act without hesitation.
