Nehemiah chapter 6 opens with the enemies trying repeatedly to get Nehemiah off track:

Sanballat and Geshem sent this message: “Come and meet with us at Kephirim in the valley of Ono.” (Nehemiah 6.2, MSG)

I love his response:

I knew they were scheming to hurt me so I sent messengers back with this: “I’m doing a great work; I can’t come down. Why should the work come to a standstill just so I can come down to see you?” (Nehemiah 6.2, 3, MSG)

“I’m doing a great work.” Sometimes, the easiest way to say “No” to an activity is that it would take away from something greater. Once a church asked me to serve on the Christian Education committee. I replied, “While you all are meeting to talk about Christian Education, I will be doing Christian Education: teaching an adult Sunday School class and leading a discipleship group.”

I am doing a great work; I can’t come down.

And by staying on task…

The wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul. It had taken fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard the news and all the surrounding nations saw it, our enemies totally lost their nerve. They knew that God was behind this work. (Nehemiah 6.15, 16, MSG)

A success! As I’ve said, there aren’t that many success stories in the Bible. Joshua led the conquest of Canaan, for example. That was a good story. They finally got the temple built as recorded in Ezra, and you could say that Esther (coming up shortly) was a success. And so was Nehemiah, but the work isn’t over. Stay tuned.

A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul… (Proverbs 13.19, ESV)