“And it came to pass from that time forth, that the half of my servants wrought in the work, and the other half of them held both the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the habergeons; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah. They which builded on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon. For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us” (Nehemiah 4:16-20 KJV)
Rolling up of the sleeves is often a sign of two things. It is either a sign of readiness for work or readiness for a fight. To be winner and to be successful in life, you must be willing to work and to fight. One of the so many reasons many people end up in life as failures is because they do not possess a fighting spirit. A fighting spirit is the attitude of not being indulgent, not just accepting everything that life offers you.
Life, often, is regarded to be unfair; it does not give to everybody what he or she deserves. Life lets go what you demand; and it takes a fighting spirit to place demands on life. It is amazing that the enemy does not care whether you fight or not, he fights. So, dear child of God, to be on the winning side, you have to be on the offensive. God promised the children of Abraham (who we are) that they shall possess the gates of their enemies. This implies taking the battle into the enemy’s camp.
Thank God for Nehemiah’s wisdom. Being fully aware that the enemy was bent on stopping them, he cautioned every one of God’s people to be ready for a fight and for work. To possess your possession, to be a victor not a victim, you ought to roll up your sleeves and fight. Fight what? Fight prayerlessness, carelessness, spiritual pride, selfishness and all appearance of evil.
As you fight, you have to work. God wants you to work for Him. He, as well, requires you to work to be able to provide for your family and relatives. God wants your approach to work to be the evidence of your relationship with Christ. Do not sit down and let the devil devastate your life.
Ask the Lord to help you to develop a fighting and an industrious Spirit today in Jesus Name.
