source: http://ww2.joelosteen.com/HopeForToday/Pages/BlogItem.aspx?item=7e0b2729-0c5b-4f07-9232-18c515208995
Posted by Joel Osteen on 10/12/2012
I
believe God has new levels of freedom for you today. One of the ways
you can see yourself go to a higher level is by learning to choose your
battles and refusing to fight battles that don't matter. Friend, you
don't have to fight every battle. You don't have to respond to every
critic. You don't have to be offended because of what someone said.
You're not a crow; you're an eagle. You can rise above it. You can soar
at new heights.
This is what Nehemiah did. God called him to
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He and his men got started, but he had
two main critics: Sanballat and Tobias. They were constantly criticizing
him, spreading rumors, and trying to make him look bad. They said,
"Nehemiah is not a builder. He doesn't know what he is doing. If a fox
runs on this wall, it's going to fall down."
The whole time,
Nehemiah and his men had to listen to these two men belittle them,
ridicule them, and make fun of them. What did Nehemiah do? He simply
ignored them. He let it go in one ear and out the other. When that
didn't work, they went to the city leaders and started spreading lies.
They said, "Nehemiah is not building this wall for our good. He's just
building a kingdom unto himself." They started questioning his motives.
Don't you know that Nehemiah was tempted to come down off that wall and
say, "Guys, I'm going to shut you up? I'm going to show you who I am."
No, he was smart enough to realize they were a distraction. He chose to
ignore them and went on to build that wall in record time.
Anytime
God puts a dream in your heart and you start pursuing your goals, you
can be sure that the "Sanballats" and the "Tobiases" will show up. The
mark of a true champion is knowing which battles to fight. As in this
case, many battles should be ignored. Nehemiah knew if he came down off
the wall and spent his time and energy, sure, he could have defeated
those two men. Sure, that would have made him feel good. But, it would
not have advanced him toward his destiny. It would not have helped the
wall get built any faster. Bottom line: he chose to be an eagle. He
chose to rise above it.
I'm asking us to do the same thing. Be
selective as to what you give your attention to. Don't get caught up in
battles that don't matter. Let's learn to do like Nehemiah and ignore
the Sanballats and Tobiases. Friend, if you will get good at knowing
what to ignore and not get distracted by things that don't matter, God
will fight your battles. He will promote you, and you will overcome
every obstacle and become everything God has created you to be!