Obeying God Should Come With A Warning Label
I’ve decided that obeying God should really come with a warning label. I mean really, people should be warned to expect opposition and attacks when they start obeying God. Quite honestly the devil doesn’t like our obedience. He knows the good that will come of it. He knows it’s dangerous for him. So, He’s going to fight back. People need to know to expect it.
Warning: Obeying God may cause serious side effects to occur. Some people have reported financial trouble, health problems, criticism, false accusations, betrayal, relational trouble, natural disasters, legal trouble, physical assault, property damage, life threatening events, and things just going wrong in general. In some cases death has occurred. This is not a complete list of possible side effects.
When we step out and start obeying God, we’re going to have some attacks from the devil. It’s inevitable. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll experience attack every time, but it is a definite possibility. The more we expect it, the better prepared we can be.
Somebody warned me about obeying God
One of the best things anybody did for me was give me similar advice. When I first started volunteer teaching at Glory House, the director, Susie, told me expect attacks and expect things to go wrong. It kind of actually took me by surprise. At the same time, however, I felt a bit relieved because I had already indeed started to experience exactly that!
I was sitting in her office during my interview going over my class curriculum and discussing how it would fit into the Glory House program. Then Susie very directly said, “Now, I need to warn you. If you start teaching here, you’re going to have some attacks from Satan. We do good things here, and he doesn’t like it. This place is a danger to the enemy, and he will try to stop you from becoming a part of it.”
I can’t even remember exactly how I responded. Maybe something like, “Wow! I think it’s already happening.” Things were already starting to go wrong right and left before I had even started. In fact, that very morning before my interview, Eric and I had just had a huge argument. The conflict even unsettled me going into the interview. After Susie’s warning, it made sense though. A light bulb came on, and a fire lit under me. It was as if I was ready to say to the devil, “Oh, you think you can stop me? Bring it on!”
Obeying God brings rewards if we endure
Obeying God and sticking it out has led me not only further in my spiritual walk but further in my life and career goals. That act of obedience in teaching and volunteering and Glory House has produced countless rewards. I’ve been able to play a small role and witness the healing and restoration in the lives of several women. It feels good to help others!
The thing is, it’s helped me too. Through teaching and developing curriculum, God has confirmed and revealed some of my gifts. That start, and continued diligence in obeying God, has now led and fed into a ministry of my own in writing, teaching, and speaking. If I had not obeyed, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
When we’re attacked for obeying God we’re in good company
It’s always reassuring when we can look to bible stories for comfort and encouragement. Seeing what others have gone through and how they persevered lets me know I’m not alone. If they made it, so can I. If God helped them, He’ll help me too!
It was no different for many of the bible characters, than it is for us today. They also faced opposition and attacks when obeying God. Here are just a FEW examples:
- Abraham—He encountered famine (Genesis 12), his wife taken from him (Genesis 12 and Genesis 20) and battle (Genesis 14).
- Joseph—He was attacked/betrayed by brothers, made a slave, falsely accused, imprisoned, and forgotten (Genesis 37-50).
- Moses—He didn’t know ahead of time about all of the opposition he’d face from Pharaoh resulting in 10 plagues and then even being chased after being released (Exodus 7-14). On top of all of that, he had to then continue facing opposition from the Hebrews themselves on multiple occasions (Numbers 14:22)!
- Jesus’ Disciples—They faced opposition (beatings and imprisonments) as they were obeying God by sharing the gospel (numerous counts of opposition and persecution throughout the book of Acts).
- Paul—He also experienced beatings, stonings, lashings, people taking advantage of him, shipwrecks, at times not having enough food or clothing, facing harsh elements, and imprisonments (2 Corinthians 11:23-27).
- Jesus—Even Jesus had endless opposition while obeying God. He suffered verbal attacks and criticism (Luke 5-7), false accusations (Luke 23), betrayal from friends and family (Luke 22, John 7), natural disasters/storms (Mark 4, Matthew 14), including people trying to take his life on multiple occasions before he laid his life down of his own will (Matthew 12:14, John 8:59, John 10:31-39).
And I thought I had it bad at times!
Be strong and courageous
A few years ago, I felt that God kept telling me to “be strong and courageous”. That phrase kept coming up repeatedly. I decided to do a little study. I discovered that nearly every time that phrase is used it is consistent with following instruction and obeying God in His directives.
Here are a few instances:
“The LORD will hand over to you the people who live there, and you must deal with them as I have commanded you. So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all Israel watched, he said to him, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors he would give them. You are the one who will divide it among them as their grants of land. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:5-8 (NLT)
“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.” Joshua 1:6 (NLT)
“Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God; and may the LORD do what is good in His sight.” 2 Samuel 10:12 (NASB)
“Then David continued, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work related to the Temple of the LORD is finished correctly.” 1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)
“Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!” 2 Chronicles 32:7 (NLT)
It’s interesting that God and His people are consistently saying “be strong and courageous”. I believe it’s to encourage us and prepare us for the impending opposition that will come when obeying God. It takes strength and courage to face opposition. If things were going to be all peachy keen then why would we have need of strength and courage? I think it was both a warning AND reassurance from God.
So how do we prepare for attacks that come when obeying God?
Take Some Practical Steps To Prepare For Attacks That Come When Obeying God:
- Knowing is half the battle! Thanks to good ol’ G.I. Joe for that phrase! When you know AHEAD of time that opposition is coming, you can adequately prepare for the fight. I’m warning you now. When you start obeying God, you will have opposition, troubles, and things will start going all kinds of wrong. Just expect it, and prepare.
- Be strong and courageous! You’re going to have to put on your big boy or big girl panties and “cowboy up” as we say around these parts! 😉 Get your brave on. (Read more posts about overcoming fear here and here.) If God has given you some instruction, you might also go ahead and write this verse (below) on an index card. Then post it somewhere you’ll see it often as a reminder when times start getting tough.
“This is my command–be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NLT)
- Do a preemptive attack. Start praying ahead of time before the attack even comes. Pray a hedge of protection (Job 1:10) and/or a hedge of thorns (Hosea 2:6) against the attack. Bind Satan (Matthew 18:18). Find some verses to stand on, pray, and confess that apply to your situation.
- Fight back! Go in guns blazing and have your armor on and your weapons ready. When you get attacked, don’t take it sitting down. Stand up and fight back. Use the authority that God has given you when troubles come. Again, find some verses or promises of God to stand on, pray, and confess that apply to your situation.
“Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12 (NLT)
“Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:13-18 (NLT)
“Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.” Luke 10:19 (NLT)
- Don’t give up when the going gets tough. Persevere through the hard times and troubles and keep obeying God. If God’s told you to do it, He will help get you through it! Don’t lose your reward by giving up. You got this!
“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. And just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
My prayer is that this “warning” will help you as it did me. I hope a light bulb will come on for you too. May a fire also light under you so that you’ll remain vigilant and prepared for whatever may come. Much love to you my friends!
How have you experienced opposition when obeying God? What was the outcome? Tell us about it by leaving a comment below.
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