Can’t Stop Won’t Stop

God has not given up on the purpose and plan He has for you. He orchestrates all things, good and bad, to keep us in the process of becoming what He dreamed we would be.

When we know what God's purpose is and we step into it, we have to be ready for the opposition. It's going to come fast not only from the enemy, our adversary but from flesh and blood people who are going to try and tear you down while you attempt to reshape the direction of your life.

You will hear things like "Don't forget where you came from," "So you think you're better than us now," and "You'll never change." Since you won't do everything perfectly, when you fail they'll say, "I knew you'd mess up." And lastly, you may hear, "It's great that you want to reframe your life, but it's ok for you to take a day off and hang with us."

Your answer has to be "Can't stop, won't stop." You have to remain faithful to the purpose that God is calling you to.

In the book of Nehemiah, the people of God have been in exile due to their disobedience and refusal to be a part of God's plan and purposes for their lives. The word comes to Nehemiah about the condition of the Jerusalem's walls. It was in such a state of disrepair that he broke down weeping and turned to fasting and prayer. He went to the king and asked if he could return to Jerusalem to repair the wall. He gathered up a remnant of the people and they got to work.

Immediately, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem were right there to mock and ridicule him. They tried to divert him, but Nehemiah couldn't be bothered with it and moved forward with the plans that God had called him to. By the time, they are almost done with the wall. The three opposers asked Nehemiah to come down from the wall to meet with them in a different city. Knowing they were scheming to harm him, he replied, "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down."

This is our message. Our job is to build the church and our lives. It is a great work of God and we can't come down from it. The world is always going to try and bring you down because people don't like seeing people go up. We're not a celebratory culture of those rising up, we'd rather talk about those falling down.

Nehemiah had such a clear vision of what God had called him to that he couldn't stop and he wouldn't stop. Four times they tried to get him to come down. They were persistent just like our adversaries are. Since the diversion didn't work, they tried deception. On the fifth time, they sent a letter saying they heard a rumor accusing Nehemiah of treason and overthrowing the ruling powers. Nehemiah replied plainly that nothing they said was happening was really happening and they were making it all up in their head. Nehemiah's life was so rooted in the truth that he was able to spot lies and speak against them.

Next, they tried to dishearten him. The enemy tried to get under our thoughts and put fear inside of us. Nehemiah knew they were trying to keep the work from being completed, so he prayed that God would strengthen his hands.

To the diversion, Nehemiah couldn't be bothered. His mission was too important. To the deception, all of the concocted stories, he called it out. To the fear and intimidation, he prayed for strength and would not be disheartened. In all of it, he stayed focused and rooted in the truth. He can't stop and won't stop to give in to the voice of fear that comes right out of Hell itself.

Last, they tried to pull a false prophecy on Nehemiah. The three adversaries went to Nehemiah's spiritual advisor and paid him to pass along a false prophecy to him. The advisor told him that he needed to barricade himself inside because he was going to be killed that night. This is the tactic that we would all fall for. The person that we trust and has given us great advice before? Why would we not believe them? But Nehemiah was resolved to complete the mission that he had been called to by God.

Nehemiah understood that he had God's help and realized God had not sent his advisor. If anyone ever has "a word from God" for you, you have to hold it up against what God has said. God's word said, "build," the world said, "stop." You have to know the truth in order to evaluate whose words are true. The enemy's plan sometimes isn't just to completely wreck your life, it's just to get you to delay what he wants to do today. Our hearts have to say, "Can't stop, won't stop."

Nehemiah finished the work and by the time it was done, everyone knew it had been done with God's help.

When the voices come against us, we have to stay rooted in the words of God. Allow it to mold and shape you, it's your plumb line. Next, become an encourager of the building process in someone else's life. Shift the tide. We can leave every conversation with a word of encouragement. When you encourage others, often in turn, you encourage yourself.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. It's how we don't get diverted, deceived, disheartened, or distracted. He's the one person on earth who can build a way of freedom, forgiveness, a way to God, and a way to life. As Jesus was dying for you, He was mocked. In his last moments before He forever changed history and our way of accessing God, he was ridiculed. Jesus stayed on the cross until it was finished. He could have come down, but he couldn't stop and wouldn't stop until the work was done.