Does opposition shut you down or spur you on? I hope it empowers you that what you have to say is worth fighting for! If you have nothing worthy to say, then the devil won’t try to defeat you because it would be a waste of his time. He is too busy trying to stop those with a powerful message. I am sure somewhere along the way there has been someone, something or some thought that has deterred you from sharing a message you intended to share. I am often silent in a group where I find it challenging to speak up. Think about it for a second…a time when you planned to speak up, but just couldn’t. I have had two times in my life that really stick out when I know the enemy was trying to get me to keep quiet. If I am truly honest, it rattled me to the point that I wanted to run and hide. But both times I really didn’t have much choice, people were depending on me to deliver. I didn’t have an out so I prayed God would stop my heart from racing, squelch my frustration and help me to deliver what he had put on my heart.

Those are two of the most powerful days of my life. God gave me focus and I drove on. What I spoke was of him, and not of me, and it was powerful. However, the devil was indeed pulling out all the stops to silence me right up until the moment I spoke. The first attack was literally minutes before I was to publicly deliver my testimony for the first time. I had been scheduled for weeks, it had been reviewed by leaders and approved. I was so excited to share all that God had done in my life. It has been years ago now, but people still talk about how powerful that night was because God used it to touch so many people in different ways. If I had run like I wanted to in that moment, God would have lost the opportunity to empower people and the enemy would have won.

The first time I was completely blind sided and utterly shaken up. The last time this happened I was still rattled, but I knew EXACTLY what was happening in that moment. The devil knew that lives were about to be changed in God’s favor and he wasn’t about to sit idly by. He intended to emotionally bankrupt me minutes before I was to begin encouraging people in business. This was kind of a no brainer for me after 15 years of opening and operating my own business, but my authority was still questioned minutes before speaking. However this time I knew what the devil was up to, and although it flustered me, God empowered me and I knew what I was about to participate in was going to be life changing. This time I was fully aware of the attack, defended myself, prayed and drove on with the message.

Both of these times, men that I didn’t know very well publicly questioned my ability, material and qualifications to speak about anything at all. Talk about putting your thumb on someone who is already anxious about public speaking! I knew God had called me to share what I had prepared to teach on both occassions, so slightly rattled I drove on. God’s purpose had been revealed and not hindered. Both of these men apologized to me after I had delivered the message God gave me. Apparently God had used me despite their beliefs of my inadequacy, which if you read your Bible the inadequate are exactly WHO God uses! Those who aren’t capable on their own, so that those listening know that the message is of God because the delivery person is completely incapable on their own! 

I want to prepare you, encourage you, and empower you. If God has inspired you to take action that is biblical and selfless, don’t let anyone or anything hinder you. It may be speaking or writing, but maybe it is beginning a ministry or being intentional in someone’s life. Pray often and make sure you are pursuing God’s direction, but then don’t be deterred by the world. Don’t give the devil that power. If God wants to put a roadblock in your way that you can’t get around, he is fully capable to do so. Is It God’s Will or My Will? can help show you how to pray and be confident it is God’s will.

Be ready and consider it a complement when you are confronted. What you are doing is worthy! As long as you are operating within God’s word, God is on your side and you could not ask for better support than that! I want to encourage you to see opposition for what it really is. Be on the look out for obstacles that come out of nowhere to halt or slow you down in what God has given you vision for. They only have control if you allow them to. SO DON’T! They didn’t exactly embrace what Jesus had to say either, remember? So you are in good company! Let the attack strengthen you, NOT defeat you.  God chose you! God decided you were a capable vessel for whatever he put on your heart, in your hands or on your lips. Therefore, YOU are wholly capable because well….GOD! If you are struggling with feeling capable, let me remind you again of so many individuals in the Bible who did not believe THEY were capable either. That was on purpose so that those watching them would KNOW God was in charge because there was no other way to explain the unexplainable….but God. 

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.