’’And our enemies said, They will not know and see until we come in the midst of them; and we will kill them, and so cause the work to cease. And the Jews that dwelt by them came ten times to warn us of all the places from whence they came to us’’ Nehemiah 4:11-12

From the fall of man in the Garden of Eden till now, the word of the Lord against Adam and Eve remains a reality such that humanity is in a perpetual struggle for survival in this jungle world. Life has truly become a struggle. Thus, whether one is big or small, rich or poor, fights and struggles seem to be part and parcel of the game of life.

Our meditation is about the merciless battle that Sanballat and Tobia, the Ammonites fought against Nehemiah and God's people when they tried to rebuild the ruined city of their fathers after getting official permission from the king. Nehemiah and his people were subject to insults, mockery, and curses of all kinds. They eventually managed to rebuild the city not only thanks to their great determination, their faith, but also because they had Jewish allies in the opposing camp.

In the course of our lives, when we face some kinds of situations, we need the presence, and true and genuine support of reliable allies to get us out. That was the case of David. Despite his loyalty to King Saul, David underwent several assassination attempts. He could successfully escape those different attempts thanks to his friend Jonathan, Saul's son: (1 Samuel 19:1-2).

When choosing our allies, we need to be very careful and we should refrain from blindly trusting in people. An ally is neither a spy we bribe to expect a loyalty from him/her nor a zealous collaborator who reports to us what others say about us after skilfully colouring it to please us and expect an immediate reward. Some traitors in the coats of allies might surround you while implementing the agenda of your downfall. You need God’s discernment to uncover them and get rid of them the soonest possible.

An ally is one who believes in us, covers us out of his/her love without expecting anything in return. If it is true that in the face of challenges of life, we sometimes need someone to support and inform us, let's never lose sight of the fact that our only true, reliable and infallible ally is the Spirit of God whom we must cherish. Remain blessed!