A Brick at a Time

Some people just don't want you to succeed.  No matter how noble you are attempting to be or how well a job you are doing at it, some just don't want you to succeed.  There will be discouraging people along the way.  There will also be some that are worse than discouraging.  They can be attacking.  When talking about subjects such as this one, I always try to find some episode in my life that I can focus on and poke fun at it.   I am thankful I have not been around a whole lot of discouraging people and very few attackers.  Oh, I had a deacon in my first church that would chew me once a year for something that I could not control.  One Sunday he was upset with me because a folding table was left in his Sunday School class from Vacation Bible School the week before.  I collapsed the table and moved it and he calmed down.  He was not attacking, just grouchy at times.  And then I tried to sell cars one summer in college and had a profane, aggressive sales manager.   One Saturday (Saturdays are big on a car lot) I was walking around the new Taurus Wagon . It was the first year for it and I don't think I had been properly introduced to the vehicle ( I don't think I watched the video).  The customer found a button in the back of the car that we could not figure out.  I went and asked the manager.  I know (kinda dumb) but I was only 19 years old.  He cussed me and told me to ignore the button and sale the car.  The customer was not impressed when I came back and told him that it was a bonus button or something like that.  That manager was ugly to me but he just needed the Lord and few more sales.  Not really on the attack.   I had a bully in the 9th grade that was a pain.  His name was Mark.  I had a PreVocation class with him.  When we were in the greenhouse, it would jab when the teacher wasn't looking.  When we wired the little board and made the light come on, he would mess with my wires...or run the drill press one extra time through my project...or choke my small engine (can you tell I am making this up)...I just remember he was mean.  I should of coldcocked him, but I was a good kid...and mighty skinny.  Mark was attacking me but he just had some unfulfilled attention need that he was not getting at home. 
So God has been good to me, but there are people that will get in your path.  Nehemiah had some.  (www.lifejournal.cc) First they made fun of their building, then they tried to stop them.  However, Nehemiah was on mission for the Lord, and he would not stop.   What do you do when people discourage you or try to attack you.  Nehemiah 4:6 is great:  So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Just keep building your wall.  Keep your mind on your task.  Prepare for the attack and keep on keeping on.   
I don't know what you are up against today but keep on keeping on.  Keep your mind on your work and keep on building.  Just do a brick at a time.  Just keep doing it for the Lord! Have a great day!