Jennifer recently visited with host, Kirk Cameron, on this episode of TBN’s “Takeaways” discussing how we can flourish in our God-given purpose and how to take courage from the Lord. Watch it now!

You can learn more about what it means to take courage with Jennifer’s Bible study, Take Courage: A Study of Haggai. Get a sample chapter and watch session one for free here.

Then grab your free printables and listen to the Take Courage Playlist here at this link.

Here’s the deal. On page 21, I ask you to read Ezra 4:24. And then my comments indicate that the people stopped working on the temple because they became discouraged. But, if you read all of Ezra 4—which you don’t need to and aren’t supposed to yet—you would read that the people were “compelled by force to stop” in response to an order by King Artaxerxes (Ezra 4:23).

So, what gives? Were the Jews forced to stop building, or did they get discouraged and stop building?

Although it logically looks like Ezra 4:24 is connected to Ezra 4:23 (which would suggest they stopped building because they had no choice), Ezra 4:24 is actually connected to Ezra 4:5.

Hang with me, I know it might look a little fuzzy.

Ezra 4:1-5 are talking about the opposition the Jews encountered when they returned and started rebuilding the temple. But Ezra 4:6-23 are actually talking about opposition that came several years later when the Jews were working on the walls, not the temple.

For example, look at Ezra 4:12:

“Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations.”

Whereas Ezra 4:24 says:

“Now the construction of God’s house in Jerusalem had stopped and remained at a standstill …”

I know, it may be a little confusing! But, Ezra 4 is referring to two different construction projects separated by decades. Also, another evidence that the actions of verse 23 took place after verse 24 is that the reign of King Darius, mentioned in 4:24, took place before the reigns of Ahasuerus (4:6) and Artaxerses (vv. 7, 23).

Whew!

You can check this out from Enduring Word Bible Commentary on Ezra 4:

“By the reign of Artaxerxes the new Temple had been standing for half a century.” (Kidner)

So, why did Ezra even stick this in there? The New American Commentary helps us understand this as it explains: “vv. 6–23 are a parenthesis to show the real attitude of those who offered help in v. 2 and to show the continuity of the opposition to the Jews even after the period of temple construction.”

Week 1 is meant to be a summary so I didn’t go into this amount of detail this early in the Take Courage study. But, I know some of my Bible study buddies will read all of Ezra 4 and may start scratching their cute heads in confusion!

So, there you go!

In the second printing of Take Courage, I’ll add a little note so future readers don’t get confused.

If you read this, it means you are digging deep and I’m super grateful you are! Way to go, you! May God’s Holy Spirit be your Teacher and Guide as you continue to study Haggai.

Bless you,
Jennifer

If you’re here from Can I Conquer Self-Doubt and Live With Confidence? With Alli Worthington [Episode 108] …

Do you ever feel like you just can’t take one more thing? Sometimes I do!

Maybe the car breaks down, the dog can’t be found, the headaches won’t go away, or your to-do list just gets longer no matter how hard you work. It’s difficult to give 100 percent when life piles up and tries to take you down, isn’t it?

While it’s this insurmountable pile of the smaller stuff that often makes us want to quit, it’s the bigger things in our lives that make us want to give up and give in.

Friend, that might be how you feel today. You may be ready to give up. But, even when you don’t think you can take it anymore, you can still take courage.

On this episode of the 4:13 Podcast, you’ll learn how. I’ll give you three truths that’ll take you straight back to the genesis of your courage. You’ll get to know the prophet Jeremiah better, and, as you do, you’ll get a fresh infusion of strength to be who God called you to be and do what He called you to do.

3 Reasons You Can Take Courage

1. You are created by God. The foundation of courage is the love of God. The first part of Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” This is a statement of your value—and value has nothing to do with what you do.

   Sometimes you might get discouraged because you link God’s love for you to your service to Him. If you take courage and work, then you think you have value to Him. But you’ll live in constant discouragement if your value is linked to your utility. God loves you because you are His.

   In Isaiah 43:1, God told Isaiah, “He who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'” God loves those He creates. This is true about you. God created you, and He loves you. When you press into God’s love, you’ll have courage because there’s no fear in love (1 John 4:18).

2. You are consecrated for God. The second part of Jeremiah 1:5 says, “and before you were born, I consecrated you.” The word consecrated means “made holy,” “sanctified,” or “set apart.” God did that for you when you were born into His family as His child. You were set apart by Him. God looks at your life and sees a “holy” person of worth. No matter how you feel, you are holy. God did that for you, in you, and in spite of you, through the righteous nature of His Son, Jesus.
   You are not how you feel. You are who God declares you to be. [Click to Tweet]

   So, don’t judge your life by the chapter you’re in right now. Go back to chapter one and see “who” you are. Who you are and how you feel may be light-years apart. Alter your feelings to match the facts, not the other way around. You’re not how you feel, and you’re not who the disagreeables say you are. You’re who God declared you to be—and that’s consecrated and set apart.

3. You are called by God. The third part of Jeremiah 1:5 says, “I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Just like Jeremiah, you are appointed too. You’re called by God. Do you know your calling? Your calling is simply what God has made you to do.

   Discouragement tries to convince you that you are too small for your call. Or that your call is too small. Often, we measure the validity of our call with the response we get or the results of our actions. In Haggai 2:4, God told the Jews to take courage and, “Work for I am with you.” He didn’t say He was expecting a great performance, or He would only be happy if they did it perfectly. No, He said for I am with you—that’s it. You can take courage and follow your call because God’s with you and calling you.

   Your primary calling is to love God and do what He says. Beyond that, trust that while you were in your mama’s womb, He appointed you and wired you to be and do what He created you for. If you’re not sure of your calling, consider your passion and your proficiency. When those two things intersect with something that has a spiritual purpose, chances are, that’s your calling. You’re just too special and too important to God to let discouragement steal your influence from a world who needs what your calling can bring to it.

So, if you’re discouraged, return to chapter one. Don’t let all the obstacles distract you. Focus on the basics:

• You’re created by God.
• You have value that has nothing to do with what you do.
• You’re consecrated by Him.
• You’re set apart and identified as holy in His sight through His Son Jesus.
• And, you’re called to live out your purpose unafraid.

It takes courage to be you and do you. You can take a fistful of courage from God because He’s with you.

Remember, my friend, there’s nothing you face that is too hard for you and your God. Because He’s created you, consecrated you, and called you, you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Related Resources

Learn More About the Take Courage Bible Study

• Discover more about how you can take courage in my newest Bible study, Take Courage: A Study of Haggai (LifeWay, July 2020). Get a free sample chapter of Take Courage and watch session one free here!

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• Jennifer Spills the Beans With KC About Weathering the Storm [Episode 60]
• Can I Know My Calling? With Paula Faris [Episode 87]

Stay Connected

• Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the 4:13 Podcast here.
• Were you encouraged by this podcast? Reviews help the 4:13 Podcast reach more women with the “I can” message. Click here to leave a review on iTunes.

As we study the book of Haggai together, you will find courage in the God who declares, “I am with you.”

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Plus, you’ll find lots of fun Take Courage freebies, too!

If you’re here for the 4:13 Podcast …

Friend, we all face opposition sometimes. Maybe you’re facing it right now.

Sometimes opposition happens simply because there are disagreeable people in your life. It could be from an unreasonable boss or an intrusive neighbor. Maybe it’s in the constant pushback you get from a family member or the outright meanness you experience from somebody you love.

But, with great opportunity comes great opposition too. Sometimes resistance is a sign that you’ve made the enemy mad. You’re doing what he wants to prevent. So, if you know you’re following the Lord, opposition can be an even bigger motivator because it can serve as confirmation that you’re on the path God set for you.

But just because opposition can be a motivator doesn’t mean it can’t wear us out. So, how do you handle opposition when you feel weary and ready to quit?

On this episode of the 4:13 Podcast, KC and I dig into Nehemiah 4 and look at four biblical ways you can handle opposition. You’ll learn how to stay strong no matter what you face. Plus, we end with a great song by Micah Christopher. It’s an anthem that you’ll be singing all day.

4 Ways to Handle Opposition

1. Confess, don’t suppress. When you face opposition, you can either take it out on others or talk it out with God. Nehemiah 4:4 says, “Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads.” Notice who Nehemiah and the people were talking to in this verse. They didn’t say they were going to return insults to their enemies. Instead, they asked God to take care of those who opposed them.

   Often, we take our stress and frustration out on our enemy or the one who opposes us. When we do, things just get worse. And, even if we don’t take revenge on our enemy, if we don’t talk it out with God, we may take it out on somebody on our team. We transfer our emotions to the wrong person. But if we do that, we won’t stay strong. Rather, we’ll weaken our closest relationships.

   So, friend, take it to God and talk it out with Him. Be intentional not to transfer it, repress it, and act like it isn’t a big deal. Confess it all to God and tell Him. Psalm 62:8 says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.” When we pour out our hearts to God, we need to tell Him how we feel. He hears, and He cares. When you really know that, you can stay strong no matter how intense the opposition is against you.

2. Pray and post a guard. Nehemiah 4:9 says, “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” It’s interesting that they didn’t just pray and forget about it. They prayed, they trusted, and they still acted wisely and guarded the city.

   When you face opposition, you need to apply the same principle. You pray for protection and resolution, but you also take precautions. You set up relational boundaries if you need to. You limit time or exposure to the offender. You don’t do anything to intentionally provoke the person.

   It’s okay to protect yourself. This may mean you need to say no. If they are already pushing back and grumpy, then telling them no will not rock their already grumpy world, but it may bring a little peace to yours.

3. Watch your low walls. We read in Nehemiah 4:13, “Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the walls, by the exposed places. Posting them by families with their swords, spears and bows.” The high wall didn’t need guarding, but the low walls were their vulnerability. They needed to be reinforced. Consider your vulnerability and think about your “low walls.” What are the weaknesses in your life that you need to guard? Ask God to help you be aware of them and guard them well.

   Also, did you notice in this verse that Nehemiah posted guards by families? We need our people to stand with us and guard us in prayer. We don’t do this alone—ever. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us, “…we don’t wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

   You fight with spiritual weapons—with Truth. You trust God’s Spirit to give you wisdom and tenacity to stand strong. And, you do it in community with your people. You live honestly with each other and are strong for and with each other.

4. Battle while you build. Sometimes you have to battle and build at the same time. In Nehemiah 4:15-16, we read, “When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to our own work. From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, swords and armor.” Half the people worked, while the other half guarded. Nobody quit. Like them, you don’t sit it out, run, and hide because there’s opposition. You don’t quit our call to fight the enemy. You find a way to do it with wisdom while you work.

   You can keep working and trust God’s provision because you’ve prayed and given it all to God. And, because you’ve protected yourself, you’re alert to your vulnerability. So, you just do what God’s called you to do no matter the chatter and challenge of the opposition. Instead of focusing on the opposition, you focus on the Lord and what He’s called you to do.

If you’re feeling some pushback from somebody or some situation in your life, remember what Nehemiah did—confess and don’t suppress, pray and post guard, watch your low walls, and battle while you build.

Jesus said, “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Since He’s overcome and you are in Him, that makes you an overcomer. So, Overcomer, stay strong when opposition tries to wear you out. You can do this through Christ!

Related Resources

Learn More About the Take Courage Bible Study

• Discover more about how you can face opposition with wisdom and balance in my newest Bible study, Take Courage: A Study of Haggai (LifeWay, July 2020). Get a free sample chapter of Take Courage and watch session one free here!

Books and Bible Studies by Jennifer Rothschild

• Lessons I Learned in the Dark: Steps to Walking by Faith, Not by Sight
• Walking by Faith Bible Study

Links Mentioned in This Episode

• The song “You Alone” by Micah Christopher
• Can I Find Freedom from Toxic People? With Gary Thomas [Episode 75]

Stay Connected

• Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe to the 4:13 Podcast here.
• Were you encouraged by this podcast? Reviews help the 4:13 Podcast reach more women with the “I can” message. Click here to leave a review on iTunes.