It is difficult saying no sometimes. In our heart, we know its not the right thing to do, but we don’t want to disappoint people, so we go along and regret it later. It’s okay to tell people no. Nehemiah was a busy man, and when someone asked for a meeting that would take him away from his work, he replied, “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Nehemiah 6:3
“So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?”
A Full Plate
Nehemiah had a lot of pressure and tree rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem. He got halfway done and ran out of materials. There was only rubble to rebuild. There were also organizing all of the tribes and getting them on the same page. The last thing he needed was the distraction of his enemies. His doubters wanted to him to stop the work on the wall and have a meeting with them. Nehemiah’s response? “Can’t you see I’m busy doing the Lord’s work?”
Don’t Get Distracted
We can learn a lot from Nehemiah. Too many times, we let little distractions take us away from what the Lord is doing. People we hope will respect us will often drag us away from what is most important. We must remain focused on where God has us and have the courage to be able to tell people we are busy. If we don’t we will end frustrated.
Can’t You See I’m Busy?
This is where the gift of discernment is so important. We need to be able to use wisdom and weed out what isn’t essential. What may seem necessary for other people end up being the wrong choice for us. Leaning on the Lord and putting our trust in Him will help us to push forward and endure all of the naysayers.