Our Response to Evil and Fear
Did you know that in Nehemiah’s day he faced rumors and lies that were made up by government officials to discredit him? His enemies tried to terrorize him and the Jewish people who were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem in order to make them stop their work. Their enemies very deliberately spread falsehood and misinformation to cause fear and panic. I believe there are lessons for us to learn from the Book of Nehemiah to help us respond to the evil and fear that is plaguing our nation. Nehemiah is a powerful example of godly leadership to guide us today.
When Nehemiah heard that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates destroyed by fire, his first response was to weep and cry out to God with prayer and fasting. You can read Nehemiah’s prayer in Nehemiah 1:4-11. Nehemiah sought God for His plans, and when he went to King Artaxerxes, he found favor and the King sent him to the city of his fathers to rebuild the walls and gates.
Now, Nehemiah was smart, and when he arrived in Jerusalem he told no one what he was there to do. A few men went with him at night, in secret, to inspect the damage and analyze what needed to be done to the walls. Often as intercessors, the most important part of our job is done in hiddenness, and only God sees. We go before the Lord in our secret places and seek Him.
The local authorities, Sanballat (meaning bramble-bush; enemy in secret) and Tobiah (who was related to the Jews by marriage) and Geshem (known as the Arab) were very much opposed to Nehemiah’s plans. They tried four times to lure him away to meetings, but Nehemiah was wise enough to know they meant to stall the work he was doing and he refused to go. We must not allow the enemy to distract us from what we know the Lord has called us to do.
“Then Sanballat sent his servant to me as before, the 5th time, with an open letter in his hand. In it was written: ‘It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king. And you have also appointed prophets to proclaim concerning you at Jerusalem, saying, “There is a king in Judah!” Now these matters will be reported to the king. So come, therefore, and let us consult together.’” (Nehemiah 6:5-7; NKJV)
An open letter was written for public knowledge and could even be referred to in a tribunal. This was no small thing to put their rumors in writing and to accuse the prophets of the day of speaking what was illegal and rebellious against the government of Rome. I think of documents of authority in our nation right now that accuse God’s people and leaders of all manner of unrighteousness. Ask for wisdom and discernment like Nehemiah in order to know the enemy’s traps.
Nehemiah’s response in Nehemiah 6:8 was, “To confront these lies head on; ‘No such things as you say are being done, but you invent them in your own heart.’” Nehemiah was bold and chose to face his enemies.
“For they all were trying to make us afraid, saying, ‘Their hands will be weakened in the work, and it will not be done.’” (Nehemiah 6:9a; WBT) Government leaders were making false accusations against the Jews and spreading lies to make them all afraid! We must understand that there are people with ungodly agendas who are deliberately sowing lies and falsehoods for the purpose of making us afraid so we would be discouraged and quit!
So Nehemiah prayed in Nehemiah 6:9b (WBT), “Now therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” Now, why would he pray for his hands to be strengthened? My mind immediately goes to Psalm 144:1 (NKJV), which says, “Blessed be the Lord, my Rock, who trains my hands for war.” We have to be willing to allow the Lord to train us in ways of warfare and give us the strength to fight! Keep fighting no matter what the enemy taunts you with! God releases new revelation and authority as we seek Him so we are better able to fight our enemies! Remember Satan is the father of all lies!
Are you hearing talk of shortages, power outages, rising interest rates, inflation off the charts, energy crises, higher taxes, and fewer jobs? What about the terror children and parents are facing in our schools? Hate crimes are increasing. Violence and murder are in our streets. Some say our police are out of control and that we have become a weaponized America. Who in our government stands for truth? The authorities in Nehemiah’s day brought an open letter of accusations. They put ink to paper to perpetuate their lies. We see this happening today.
Nehemiah was a man of integrity. He refused to benefit from the privileges granted to him as governor and take advantage of the hard times of the Hebrew people. We too, need to live our lives to be above reproach. The Apostle Paul said in I Corinthians 9: 11-12 (NKJV), “If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.” In other words, it is not necessarily best for the gospel of Jesus Christ to take the advantages we have in the Kingdom.
Some of the Jews did become afraid and one was “a secret informer!” Verse 10 (NKJV) says “I came to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was a secret informer; and he said, “Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple, for they are coming to kill you; indeed, at night they will come to kill you.” Does the enemy say to you, “You cannot fight this. Just stay in your corner, do not cause trouble by rocking the boat and you will be safe.” No!! We are called to stand and fight! Go to that school board meeting, speak before your city council, visit your state legislator, write an editorial, be a poll watcher, run for office, start a podcast, write a blog, boycott stores that have an anti-Christian agenda! It matters! Be aware that the enemy wants us to be so fearful that we hide. Those who seem to be your friends may not be. We have to know what voices to listen to. There is an abundance of prophets on the internet, but they may not all be speaking truth. Know that there are false prophets among us and even our friends may not give us good advice.
And Nehemiah said, “’Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!’ Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason, he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me.” (Nehemiah 6:11-13; NKJV)
This is sounding more and more like our current battle, especially the one many of our leaders are in! Know that the enemy has secret informers and hirelings everywhere, eager to trip us all up in an untruth and so discredit us that we are of little use to our cause. What a pitfall of the enemy to trap us! The word tells us to avoid even the appearance of evil and to be wise.
Just as Nehemiah’s enemies taunted him to go hide, so did some of David’s so-called friends. They urged him to hide from Saul and his enemies in the mountains. David’s response is in Psalm 11:1-2 (NKJV), “In the Lord I put my trust; how can you say to my soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain?’ For look! The wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow on the string, that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart.” Our trust in God protects us above all else.
Psalm 11 continues with verses 3 and 4 (NKJV), “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, his eyelids test the sons of men.” I have thought on this scripture for many years and I have finally come to the conclusion that the Lord wants to see what we will do when we think He is not looking? Of course this is ridiculous. God sees everything. But do we not sometimes act like no one sees us? We decide, what point is there to stand for righteousness in a fallen world? Does it really matter to go to the principal of the school my child attends to speak up about what is in the school library? What difference can I really make? We tend to be results-oriented, but sometimes it is good to know what we did was right before God. Remember to stand for righteousness even when we are afraid, even when no one is looking. Our God in heaven does notice.
Verse 5 (NKJV) continues, “The LORD tests the righteous, but the wicked and the one who loves violence, His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain coals; fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup.” When we think the enemy never gets caught and never seems to get the punishment he deserves, we need to remind ourselves what the word of God says. We know that judgment is coming to all one day. Let us not lose sight of the fact that the enemy will not always have his way.
In summary, our response to evil and fear should be:
1. Cry out to God with prayer and fasting. Weep over the condition of our nation.
2. Go before the Lord in your secret place and seek Him.
3. Do not allow the enemy to distract us from what we know the Lord has called us to do.
4. Ask for wisdom and discernment in order to know the enemy’s traps.
5. We must face our enemies with boldness.
6. We need to understand there are people with ungodly agendas who are deliberately sowing lies and falsehoods for the purpose of making us afraid so we will quit.
7. Ask the Lord to train us in ways of warfare and give us the strength to fight.
8. We need to live our lives to be above reproach.
9. Be aware that the enemy wants us to be so fearful that we hide.
10. Know there are false prophets among us and even our friends may not give us good advice.
11. The enemy is eager to trip us up in an untruth and discredit us so we are of little use to our cause.
12. Our trust in God protects us above all else. We are not to live in fear.
13. Remember to stand for righteousness even when we are afraid, even when no one is looking. Our God in heaven does notice, and He is FOR us!
Marion Farrar General for TN
Marion has been involved in leadership for the prayer movement, particularly in the state of Tennessee for many years, across many networks, and spheres of authority in many roles. Her current assignments include pursuing racial reconciliation in Nashville and addressing government overreach in the educational system of TN. Marion is the founder of Heart of Intercession Ministries and is an ordained minister. Marion has been married for 40 years to Russ Farrar and has 2 grown daughters.
