Archives for July 2016

Focus Scripture: For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (AMP)

It had been sunny all day and then all of a sudden it turned dark. A storm like I have never experienced before came out of nowhere – high winds, rain, hail.  I was getting ready to head out the door and had to stop to pray and ask God to protect me and my home. I don’t get afraid easily, but that storm caused me to become scared for a moment. It didn’t last long, just about 15-20 minutes or so, and I was out the door, off to the next thing on my agenda that day.

I arrived at my destination and it was sunny again. Everything was back to normal. I went inside and spoke to a few people, did some mingling. But after a while, something just wasn’t right. It just didn’t feel the same.

Sensing a shift, I quickly asked God what was going on. “Why does this feel so different?” I just thought I was tired from the day and the feeling would pass. But immediately the Holy Spirit said, “your time here is up.” Tears began to stream down my face. I had so many questions. “How? I love this place. I still have more to give. My pastor always says if you have a burden for something, that’s probably where you need to be ministering.” Then the Holy Spirit, calmly quieted my fears with five simple but sometimes hard to accept words. “But what did I say?” And then, right there, while at the place God was ushering me out of, it started storming outside again.

God sent oppositions.

There are times that God will send opposition your way. He does it for a number of reasons. In my case, it was to move me from a place that He knew I never would have walked away from voluntarily, had He not presented the above oppositions for me to inquire about. Since then, there have been other oppositions I have faced, as a result of me saying “yes” to Him. One was given in yesterday’s devotion regarding oppositions sent by the enemy. Although I had my reservations about saying “yes” to God and being obedient to his leading, due to fear of the unknown. Knowing that you are being obedient to Christ calms all those fears.

As I was sitting there asking God for more confirmation that it was indeed time for me to go, He reminded me of the story of Jonah in the Old Testament.

In Jonah 1:4, the Bible tells us that God caused the men on the ship to encounter a mighty storm because of Jonah’s disobedience. At the beginning of the Book of Jonah, God told him to go to Nineveh, but instead he prepared to go to Tarshish. His disobedience to God caused danger not only for himself but everyone else on that ship. Not to mention after he was thrown overboard, God once again, prepared a fish to swallow him resulting in Jonah being trapped in the fish’s belly for 3 whole days, Jonah 1:15-17.

Have you ever experienced this type of opposition? How did you respond? How will you respond differently after receiving this devotional?

Prayer: My Father, King, Leader and Friend, thank You for opening my eyes to see the truth in Your word according to Hebrews 4:12. Help me to remember that some of my opposition does come from You. I want to be able to know the difference, so I pray that You grant me Your wisdom when dealing with opposition. It is in Your Son Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!

Bible Reading: Job 1:6-12

On yesterday, we talked about opposition from the enemy vs opposition from God. And let me just tell you, I have been experiencing some opposition these past few days with my BWT Guest List.

I must confess, ever since I started writing, I have encountered feelings of being overwhelmed from time to time. A number of thoughts have gone through my head, questioning if I should continue. “Should I really be doing devotionals daily? Did I get it right when I thought I heard God confirm it? What if people get bored with the devotionals because it starts to sound repetitious?” These and many other thoughts, I have entertained a time or two. And then to make matters worse, my emailing host wants to act up when I am already dealing with mental opposition.

Let me be clear, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, this is what I’m supposed to be doing. God gave me the desire, Psalm 37:4. He confirmed it multiple times, Genesis 18:10. And he is leading me through the process and never fails to give me a word to speak to His people, Matthew 10:20.

One of the enemies greatest tricks is to get you to question what God spoke to you. If he can successfully convince you to question God, then that means you will question every word you have ever believed God spoke to you. That’s exactly what he did to Eve in Genesis 3:1. I confidently know, a lot of the opposition that I am facing right now also has a lot to do with a “yes” I gave to God regarding another ministry in my life. But we will talk about that tomorrow.

If the enemy can’t succeed with stopping you from moving forward in the midst of opposition, he will try his best to distract you with a lot of meaningless concerns, busy work and fears. His strategy is to keep you engaged in things you aren’t supposed to be doing so you are distracted long enough from what you are supposed to be doing.

Another byproduct of opposition from the enemy was mentioned yesterday, confusion. You will begin to experience confusion all around you. And even worst, you will start to think you have to entertain that confusion.

These last few mornings, I have been getting up earlier so that I could spend a little bit more time with God, and get to work earlier. But the confusion caused by the emails not going out caused me to feel pressure to fix the problem right then. All these thoughts started going through my head. “People aren’t going to want to read the devotionals anymore. They are going to think you are incompetent.” Due to anxious feelings, originating from trying to solve the problem right then, I wasn’t able to spend quality time with God, and I was late for work. Can you believe he tried to use the very thing that he is angry about me doing, to distract me from what really mattered, building my relationship with Christ? Confusion!

Yesterday morning was different thought. I was not going to take the bait. I started to draft another apology email, but then I remembered yesterday’s email informing my subscribers what to do if we ever encountered this problem again. And then I get a text message from a reader,  also recognizing the opposition and encouraging me to continue.

Opposition from the enemy, often times causes distraction, confusion, and anxiety, all things that God is not. God is a God of order and peace, 1 Corinthians 14:33.

Think back on times where you have experienced opposition. Was it accompanied by distraction, confusion and anxiety or order and peace?

Prayer: Lord, Thank You for continuing to open my eyes to see the truth about opposition. Often times I have found myself getting discouraged by different oppositions I have faced. Father, I ask You to forgive me. Allow me to adopt the spirit of Job when I am encountering opposition. When it’s all said and done, I want You to be pleased with my posture while experiencing the things You allow me to experience. It is in the might name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!

Focus Scripture : If any of you lacks wisdom [to guide him through a decision or circumstance], he is to ask of [our benevolent] God, who gives to everyone generously and without rebuke or blame, and it will be given to him. James 1:5 (AMP)

Where does opposition come from? You know the roadblocks that we are often met with that can either discourage us from moving forward or encourage us that we are just where we need be. Do they come from the devil or does God send oppositions too?

The answer is both. Opposition can come from both the enemy and God. It is important that you recognize the difference.

The book of Job is a perfect example of opposition that comes from the enemy. All throughout Job, we see roadblock after roadblock that was sent by the enemy to cause Job to lose faith in God.

As it pertains to God sent opposition. The story of Jonah in the belly of the whale in Jonah 1:4 comes to mind. The Bible tells us that God caused Jonah and the other men on the ship to encounter a storm.

Opposition that comes for the enemy, a lot of times comes when we are in the right place in God. We can’t allow discouragement to consume us when the enemy attacks us, he is only doing his job. With the enemy’s opposition comes confusion. When we are in line with what God has called us to, when lives are being changed because of our obedience, the kingdom of darkness is in great danger and the enemy is not happy about it. He will do everything in his power to deter us from moving forward.

On the other hand, opposition that comes from God, a lot of times, is to get our attention to warn us and redirect us when we are not in line with what He has called us to. God desires nothing more than for us to be in the center of His will for our lives. However, God is not going to make us do anything. He gives us the option to choose Him and a life lived in Him. He will often send opposition our way to lead us and guide us in the right direction. Although oppositions will find us, with God’s opposition comes peace.

It is very important the we understand the difference between the two. The most beautiful part about recognizing these differences is, when we truly seek God for guidance, He will make it perfectly clear where the opposition is coming from.

We all experience opposition in our walk with Christ. Can you remember a time when you experienced opposition from either God or the enemy? How did you identify the originator of the opposition?

Prayer: Lord, thank You for bringing to my attention the truth about opposition. Often times I would think that the opposition I was facing came from the devil. Not realizing that sometimes You too cause opposition in my life. Father, I pray for Your wisdom as I am identifying and understating the difference. It is in Your Son Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!