Sunday, January 31, 2010

Dealing with Opposition

I have been preaching through Nehemiah over the past few weeks and have just loved it. The book gives us a glimpse of how the Lord has lead Nehemiah back to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the wall around the city. He has approached the King and has been given the freedom to go ahead with his plans. The only problem is that he begins to face detractors. He is criticized, beat down by various lies, engulfed with accusations, but he still marched on.
Have you ever had this problem? Have you ever set your mind to a task and decided to move in a certain direction only to have those around be the first to offer a thousand reasons why you shouldn't proceed. People always seem to be there to tell you what not to do. Often your dreams and my dreams die at the hands of those standing up in judgement of these plans. You have a dream and set the plan but can't get anyone to buy in.
Nehemiah had plenty of people that wanted to stop him, but he was able to make through the storm and make the most of the dreams God had given him. The question for you and me is not if we will have opposition, but how will we respond to opposition when we face it. Nehemiah chose to pray, stay the course, and act with integrity. How will you respond.

Go back and read the book of Nehemiah. Take some life lessons from and allow God to some amazing work in your life and the lives of those around you.

Ask yourself these questions:

What is the vision God has given me?



What are the obstacles in my way?



How am I responding? How should you respond?



Are trusting God with your plans and the work he wants to do in and through you?

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