DEFEATING DISTRACTION & DISCOURAGEMENT

Notes & Resources
Written By StevenJBarker

DEFEATING DISTRACTION & DISCOURAGEMENT

The Good Work - Part 4 | June 22, 2025

Gabe Kolstad | @gabekolstad

 

If your enemy can’t destroy you, 

he will distract and discourage you.

3 Responses to Keep Your Focus:

DISCERNMENT

1 Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates. 2 So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized they were plotting to harm me…    -Nehemiah 6:1-2

DETERMINATION

3 …so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?”  4 Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. 9 They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination.    -Nehemiah 6:3-4, 9

DEVOTION

10 Shemaiah…said, “Let us meet together inside the Temple of God and bolt the doors shut. Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight.” 11 But I replied, “Should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my position enter the Temple to save his life? No, I won’t do it!” 12 I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me.


The Result: DONE!


15 So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. 16 When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.    -Nehemiah 6:15-16

For Discussion:

  • Why are distractions so effective at derailing the good work we’re doing?

  • As we approach the finish line of our good work, why is it important to remember that we’re not aiming for what’s popular—we’re aiming for what’s important?

  • What steps can you take to stay focused on the work God’s given you to do?

  • Identify the distractions you face while doing good work and commit to avoiding those distractions in the future.

QUICK LINKS:

StevenJBarker https://strongergrp.com
Next

STANDING STRONG IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION