The Gaps in the Wall

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Neh. 4:7 “But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. “

In my work, we have this sportfest every summer where every attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology competes with each other. The sport where I joined in is table tennis. I like this sport a lot since it makes you focus and concentrate on one thing – the ball. Oftentimes, before my game would start, I’ll be watching my opponent playing with others. I would be watching how they would hit particular shots, what was their volley like, are they good on their backhand? How are they moving around? You see, I’m looking for a weakness that I could exploit for my own gain and advantage during our actual play! Once I find a weakness, I will then keep plugging away at it. What I’m trying to do here? I’m trying to break the faith and confidence of my opponent through their weak areas because a person can’t focus and concentrate in this sport or in any other sport if his/her head is full of doubts. I know, I sound a tad mean right here, but that’s how it is in sports, you need to exploit their weaknesses in order to win.

The same in the verse above. The enemy is looking for a weakness (gaps) in us to break our faith and confidence (focus and concentration) to our Lord. How will they do it? By keeping on plugging away at our weaknesses and for us to repeatedly fail in that area. After a while it’s “Oh Lord, I’ve done it again.” And pretty soon you start to doubt your position in Christ and possibly His love for you. This is why the enemies of Nehemiah above were very angry when they saw that the gaps (weaknesses) in the wall had been closed. This is why we need to close those gaps and strengthen those weaknesses.