Enemies Without and Enemies Within

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored and the gaps were beginning to be closed, that they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nehemiah 4:6-8 (NKJV)

We face all kinds of enemies at different times in our lives- when we’re up as well as when we’re down, when we’re whole and when we’re hurt, when things are going well and when things are going badly. Enemies will come against us at various times in various ways. We experience both enemies without and enemies within.

An enemy will reveal what kind of person you are- a person of the flesh or of the spirit. A person of the spirit will let God fight the battles, which ensures he always wins. A person of the flesh tries to fight his own battles, which is not the best way to go.

Enemies Without

The book of Nehemiah speaks of enemies without, or those who come against us from the outside. The good guys in this particular situation, Nehemiah and the people of Israel, were rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. They were hindered by external enemies trying to stop them. Enemies from without are easier to detect than those from within.

Enemies Within

A person’s worst enemy can be himself. We can sabotage ourselves worse than anyone else can. We can be against ourselves by not controlling our thoughts, emotions, words, decisions, and actions.

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. James 3:14 (NKJV)

This speaks of bitter envy and self-seeking, or strife. Where does it say these things are? In our hearts! These are some of the things that can be enemies within. It’s one thing to fight others, but to be against oneself is even worse. When we’re against our selves, we help the enemy out, and we’re not much of a threat to him. We become a kingdom divided against itself. We must come to peace within ourselves, love ourselves, accept ourselves, and quit being at odds with ourselves. We must align our inner man with the Word of God. How do we do this? By spending time in the Word. As we win the battles within, we are better suited and more capable of handling the battles without.

Acceleration

 So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. Nehemiah 6:15 (NKJV)

Finishing the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem in just 52 days is amazing. When we conquer the enemies both without and within, we will see an acceleration where we finish things faster. We’ll finish what we start. We’ll finish school. We’ll finish reading the Bible through in a year. We’ll accomplish many things, such as maintaining a daily prayer life, having healthy lasting relationships, getting out of debt and staying there, and living in good health. We’ll have a better attitude, and we’ll face each day with confidence.

He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. Proverbs 16:32 (NKJV)

As we are victorious inwardly, we will be more victorious outwardly- even in the midst of a spiritual fight. As we control ourselves, we’re mightier than one who conquers a city. When we first conquer ourselves, then we’ll be able to conquer the world.