An ‘enemy of progress’ is something or someone that hinders you from growing, from progressing, from getting to where you want to be, or should be. They can come in many different shapes and sizes; you can probably think of at least one in your life.
How often do you prayerfully ask God to reveal to you that which is hindering your spiritual walk, that is hindering you from having the relationship with Him you ought to have, that is hindering you from walking by faith and not by sight, that is hindering you from living at the centre of God’s will for your life?
If you have flicked through the pages of the Old Testament, you probably have come across someone named Nehemiah: he left his job as a King’s cupbearer and took on the burden that God put on His heart – the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1, 2).
Now, Nehemiah and Co. were doing an amazing job, and they were making serious progress in the rebuilding of the wall (Nehemiah 3). But of course, you know how life is; when things are on the up, when your prayer and devotional life is great, when you’re seeking God’s kingdom first, when restoration is taking place in your life, when you’re making spiritual progress, that’s when ‘enemies of progress’ love to make an appearance. For Nehemiah, they were Sanballat and Tobiah.
‘Enemies of progress’ however, don’t come in all-out attack, all guns blazing. Instead, they come subtly and innocently – that’s Satan’s master tactic. The temptation seems so harmless, the pull so delicate that had it not been for the Lord who is on our side (Psalm 124). Had it not been for Him speaking to us and impressing on our hearts the true dangers
and traps laid against us, we would have willingly been taken captive by Satan.
Sanballat and Tobiah came to Nehemiah in the same vain, check out how innocently slick and subtle they were: “Come” they seductively said to Nehemiah, “let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” (Nehemiah 6:2).
I mean what could be wrong with a meet-up in Ono? What could be wrong with grabbing some falafel wraps and catching up on life… surely nothing is wrong with that, right? But Nehemiah understood that all ‘enemies of progress’ have only one motive: ‘They intended to do me harm.’ (Nehemiah 6:2). ‘Spiritual enemies of progress’ will always seek to kill,
steal and destroy your faith in God, to take you away from being at the centre of God’s will and to hinder God’s restoration in your life.
Nehemiah, however, was a prayerful man who constantly and consistently communed with God and who, I believe, continuously asked God to help him see the enemies of progress in his life. His response to Sanballat and Tobiah shows this, he said, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?’ (Nehemiah 6:3).
This should be our response to ‘enemies of progress‘.
However, note that ‘enemies of progress’ don’t go away after one resistance. We can resist the devil and the promise is he will flee from us (James 4:7), but he will come back again at a more opportune time (Luke 4:13). Hence, we are admonished to ‘watch and pray’ (Mark 14:38), to be ‘sober and vigilant’ because Satan is always seeking to devour us (1 Peter 5:8).
Sanballat and Tobiah came with the same enticement four times, but Nehemiah resisted with the same strength and determination (Nehemiah 6:4).
‘Spiritual enemies of progress’ come in various forms, it could be your phone that’s keeping you from having your devotion and putting God first. It could be those friends that are negatively influencing you. It could be that series that, just maybe, takes a little too much of your time. It could be that job, that partner, that website, that app, that playlist… We all have our ‘spiritual enemies of progress’. What is yours? (Pause and think for a minute)
One thing I have learnt from Nehemiah is that knowing where he was going helped him deal with his enemies of progress. The direction, the aim, the goal, the calling God placed on his life.
The reality is, that if we don’t know where we are going, if we don’t have a goal or a definite aim, all distractions will seem like opportunities.
Nehemiah knew where He was going and what God wanted him to do, and this helped him overcome.
If you don’t know where you are going, it’s okay, as you keep walking with God and trusting Him, He will direct your path and show you the way to go – He promised (Proverbs 3:5, 6; Psalms 16:11).
From today, take time to consider your ‘spiritual enemies of progress’, prayerfully ask God to reveal them to you, and ask Him to help you resist and overcome.
WRITER: Douglas Gausi