Prophesy is a recipe for more troubles, oppositions and other hatred attacks from the enemy. Have you received any Prophesy concerning your life and your future from any good man of God? Then if that Prophesy concerns something good in your life, whether successful marriage, greatness et al then better prepare for more wars from the opposers and never think that prophesy would rather make things good for you.
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.”
No one likes opposition, yet, as Christians we must face the fact that this will be a real part of life at times. Why does God allow opposition into our life? What purpose does God see in our struggles with opposition? God usually helps us in one of two ways when opposition strikes us: He may shield us from the terrible storm or He may have us face directly into it! In either case He is trying to teach us to hold on to Him … we must adopt the strategy of the vine!
The vine has developed one of the most successful methods of survival in nature. it is capable of developing in any climatic condition, it is able to grow as tall as the tallest tree without having to build a huge trunk for support, it can spend its energy on growth upwards because it utilizes the strength of whatever it clings to, thus it grows much faster than the very tree it attaches itself to. Why is it able to stand any storm from any direction? It winds itself around in a circle upwards. it does this so that no matter which way a storm comes from it cannot be shaken off … even those vines that grow straight up are unshakable … why? if a vine grows on the north side of a tree and a storm comes from the north, the winds will drive the vine into the strong tree, it remains in position therefore, if the winds come from the south, the tree itself will shield the vine from the winds, again it remains unmoved … even those that grow straight tend to wind slowly so that one part of the vine is always protected from a storm in any direction! The vine is as safe and as strong as that which it clings to.
And so we are to be like a vine clinging to Christ … if opposition comes against us head-on He is our shield; if it comes from the other direction it can only drive us closer to Christ and so we still are safe! Like the vine, we are only as strong as that which we really cling to … so cling to the strongest thing in the Universe which is God! Anything else might give way eventually, cling to the best!
-Mark 6:3 (NASB)
Often times, people may look at your past and present situations to rule you out of the race of life. They assume your future is bleak because per their analysis of your background nothing good can happen to you.
Your sight alone is enough grounds for them to dislike you. The little harmless words you speak or act becomes an offense to them…
No matter the extent to which people around you; including family members look down on you, never fall victim to their schemes. The fact is, they are only physical mediums the devil is using to divert your attention from your real purpose.
They say it’s the punch that you don’t see coming that knocks you down, so the question should be, “why don’t we see it coming?”
Some also looked at opposition to accomplishing the tasks that God places within our spirit to accomplish, how the real opposition comes before the opposition that we are expecting, and even how it often comes from those that mean the most to us.
How do we overcome opposition in the Christian journey, Grace will meet comfort, as this illustrated beautifully in the life of Nehemiah.
He has been given a message of comfort to bring to God’s people in the rebuilding the walls of their homeland that the enemy had destroyed and it is through this event that I find encouragement in the oppositions that I face in the pursuit of my purpose in the Christian life.
Why does it seem as though whenever you make steps in speaking your life’s message that opposition presents itself without fail. Fierce and relentless.
I find right off the bat that the opposition Nehemiah faced was not in a small size. His endeavor attracted the attention of kings. Why would kings work so hard to stop a cup bearer?
The cup bearer is never the issue and never has been; the issue is and always will be the message.
The magnitude of the opposition will reflect the need for the message.
Your message from God will never be without opposition and it will always attract the attention of the adversary. Size does indeed matter because when you are faced with a large amount of opposition, rest assured that the need for your specific message is equally as large.
When opposition seems to come in a large force, please understand that this is a reflection of a large need for the message that is being opposed. The need for your message can be forgotten when your focus is shifted to the size of your opposition so it is important that you secure your thoughts before your opposition arrives.
In order to combat the opposition with success, we must change our belief systems.
Nehemiah needed to combat a belief system before he was able to face Sandballat and Tobiah (Two kings that opposed his message).
He started with a mentality that expressed, “…I was a cup bearer.”~ Nehemiah 1:11, but by the time that he finished, he had changed from cup bearer to a leader that could look a crowd of torn up, battered and discouraged people in the eye and say:
“…God WILL help us…” ~ Nehemiah 2:20
Who is this talking to kings? Is this the cup bearer from the palace?
Nehemiah had transformed in his thinking. Opposition cannot stand against a message carried by a messenger who is aware of his or her identity and the importance of a delivered message.
When you understand the significance of your message, then you will understand that your message was given to you along with the authority to deliver that message.
Opposition has NO authority over your message.
The adversary can only INFLUENCE.
The only weapon that the adversary actually has to fight your mind with is the weapon of influence. The message is what has AUTHORITY.
Never allow the adversary to influence you into trading, or giving up your God given authority or message. Your message qualifies you for your assignment.
The journey will always bring you places where you will be directly challenged in your message and in those places, you must continually go back to your belief in the message that started the journey.
It was no longer a cup bearer that led the people in the task of rebuilding.
You are no longer just a dad, employee, housewife, employer, soldier, college student or whatever title that comes to mind when you think of yourself in the face of opposition. You are a messenger with a divine purpose. You have been given authority and precision placement in your assignment. Walk in that purpose and be on mission with Christ in rebuilding hearts and lives that have been destroyed!
REMEDY:
1. When they look down on you, turn to look deep inside of you.
2. When they despise you, laugh at them within you.
3. When they try discouraging you, encourage yourself with the insight of your inner abilities.
4. Let the hope of your future glories inspire you to live one day at a time by acting on your plans.
The fact is, ‘Men’ will always look down on people with purpose, and therefore I admonish you never to allow them to divert your focus. If Jesus Christ has the same encounter with the men of His times, why not YOU in our time?
Giving up is not the option. Cheer up and match fearlessly into your purposed destiny to their dismay!
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