We’ve all had opposition in our lives right?  I think that is pretty much a given… So, moving onto the next question.  How do you let opposition affect you when you are on the path in life?  I’m here to tell you, I’ve not always done so well with opposition.  I’ve always been a people pleaser, if you will.  I want to make a good impression and not “rock the boat”.  However, life has changed an awful lot for me in recent years and I no longer feel the same.  This is my story, my goal and I hope and pray it will move and affect you in your journey!

I always had it in my mind that if I wanted to be a good Christian gal that it somehow meant pleasing everyone, not getting others upset and going with the flow as if not to cause disruption in someone else’s life.  Let me tell you, that is likely some of what caused me to go in the wrong directions I went in as I grew up and was able to start making choices for my own life.  Adulthood that is.  What I just described is not easy to live up to and so I ran in the opposite direction to try to “find myself”.  Thankfully, I eventually learned what I needed to and that the choices I was making weren’t any easier either.  I finally hit the bottom and realized I needed Jesus in my life to get things going in the right direction…but not on the terms I once understood to be His…instead learning His terms and a little secret called “Boundaries.” 

See, Jesus knew all along that He wasn’t about pleasing others.  He had a mission in life and He was determined to follow the path regardless of if and who it might offend.  He knew the path He needed to take and if people got in the way, He kept walking to His goal.  If others opposed what He was on His way to do, He simply dealt with it and moved onward.  And I thank the Lord each day that He lived just in this manner.  For it He had not, He likely would have never made it to the cross and never would have died for my sins that I might have eternal life in Heaven with Him someday!  Because He followed the path He was called to regardless of what others thought, supported Him or not, I am FREE today and the hurts and harms that I have had and have in my life no longer have to stand in the way if I so choose.

So today I ask of you…What is it in life that you are sensing, feeling, hearing from God in your spirit and in your soul that you need to press on toward?  Let me give you a word that you may need to hear.  Stay the path!  Do not steer off the path you need to follow.  Let Him be your guide and do not allow any opposition to stand in your way!  Others may question you, even doubt what you dream.  Do not let them determine your destiny for you!  If you feel that you right in line with what God has directed and you know that you are sensing His Holy Spirit with you…do not allow others to challenge it.  He has a plan for you and expects you to allow no others to stand in the way.  If you are destined to greatness, it will take this type of action to get there.  And friends, I tell you this…if you are destined for greatness, I guarantee you have others in the path all along the way that need you to make to the end goal!  There will be lives changed, lives Unchained and lives that will be called to greatness all along the way!  I’ve never known a story of God to work in any less than the multitudes and if you are called to greatness…you are just the same!

Now for the scriptures:

“A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here.  (There is also mushrooming opposition.) ”

 I Cor. 16:9 MSG

“Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size–abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks.  I just let Christ take over!  And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.”

2 Cor. 12:10 MSG

“We had just been given rough treatment in Philippi, as you know, but that didn’t slow us down.  We were sure of ourselves in God, and went right ahead and said our piece, presenting Gods’ Message to you, defiant of the opposition.”

2 Thessalonians 2: 2 MSG

“Even if you suffer for it, you’re still better off.  Don’t give the opposition a second thought.”

1 Peter 3:14 MSG

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Be prepared…There will be opposition in your path, on the journey.  You’ve got to be crazy to think that anything so great of an outcome would be so easy…just because God called you to it doesn’t mean the road will be smooth sailing!  It means it will be tougher than any other road you choose in life…because the outcome is devastating to the enemy and He will put up every roadblock possible to get you to stop!  Do not retreat…do not give up! 

Stay the path and the Lord is sure to be by your side.  It may not seem He is there but He is there every step of the way.  Do not allow fear or what looks to be failure set a stone in your way…if it does, start working on moving the stone aside that you may continue on the path.  Be prepared!  Take humility, pride, and even weapons for defense along the way.  If you are not prepared in your mind and heart that they will be there, you will be shocked and surprised when they pop up.  But, if you are prepared to defeat them, they will be of no surprise and although it may take you some new strategy here and there, you will recognize the battle and be ready to fight it as necessary!  Remember, friend or foe, no matter what the reasoning to oppose you (jealousy, fear of defeat, questioning of your motives and so on) it is not their journey…they are not called to it.  Stay the path and you will be blessed!

I sat with my little girl today looking out the window into a rainy, very windy storm.  It was early in the morning and everything was quiet outside.  I looked around and noticed the tree in front of our house.  There it stood, just a bunch of leafless branches blowing in the wind.  I thought about that for a bit and how it is so like us, our life and experiences. 

There are different types of trees and they are all out there, open to the environment, harsh weather and all.  Some keep their leaves in certain seasons and lose them in others.  They go through different processes just as we all do in life.  What I always seem to notice when I see a tree blowing in a strong wind is how it shakes and sways.  Some of them bending in one direction almost touching the ground yet still staying in tact.  My eyes are always drawn to the bottom of the tree to examine what it is that is holding it in place and how it is withstanding the torment of the weather.  Even these small trees with not much to them still seem to withstand the wind.  And what is at the bottom of a tree?  As you well know, it is the bottom of the trunk.  At what is at the bottom of the trunk that we cannot see is deep underground.  Yeah, I know….you are fully aware of this but just humor me for a bit longer….

You’ve figured it out by now…I’m talking about the trees root system.  When you get to the bottom of it all, you know that in order for a tree to survive, it must dig deep through the mud and muck and keep on growing into this massive root system in order to survive.  It literally grounds itself so that it can grow, prosper, beautiful at times and just twigs blowing in the wind at others.  Sounds kind of like us huh?  We experience a lot of ugly in our lives because that is what this world consists of.  We have to dig our way through the mud and muck in order to develop our root system.  Along the way, we find that certain things make our root system stronger and others make it weaker.  Some of us eventually figure out on what we need in order to keep growing and digging in to survive, others of us end up stunting in our growth and we struggle to survive.  

We can easily identify in most cases what it is that is stunting our growth.  Perhaps it’s that really awful relationship you just can’t seem to let go of for fear of never being loved again.  Maybe it started with the abuse from a parent, friend or relative early on in life and you’ve never been able to let go of the question in your mind…What did I do to deserve this?  Perhaps it’s the addiction that you have been using to run away from the pain of a situation in your life.  Maybe it’s the feeling of being worthless regardless of how hard you try…never being able to please others.  Maybe it’s feeling like you don’t deserve this sickness or disease that you struggle with day-to-day. Maybe you feel like you are a good person, you do the right moral things, treat people well and yet there is just still a void that leaves you feeling that it is all for not…nobody else ever seems to return the favor or notice how good you are so why bother if I’m doing all I can and still not fulfilled….

So, if you can identify what it is that is stunting your growth, what is it that is needed to make it stronger?  Deeply rooted so that when the storms blow in, you can hang on and survive?  It is experience, success and a willingness to allow the help of another to ground you.  It is the hope that there is something to live for.  If all I had in this life was messes and mistakes, I’d be pretty apt to be stunted in my growth and just do what I had to get by.  Who wants to live with a constant feeling of failure, never feeling valued because you are always messing up your own life or someone else’s?  I have your answer.  There IS more to this life, beyond this life, an eternal life if you so accept what was done for you!  Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive all of your mistakes, past, present and future.  If you just accept Him and what He has done for you, if you can accept the grace He has planned for your life, you can be rooted in Christ.  He will be your strength to grow and set your root system in place.  He wants you to accept that you are forgiven.  To let go of all the thought that you can ever be perfect and do everything right.  To be able to grant you forgiveness and forgive yourself and others when there is wrong done. To live each day feeling free from all of those unworthy, not good enough feelings.  To live each day free, not second guessing yourself, just being yourself and being the best you that you can be.  Good or bad days, you have a hope of eternal life to hold onto.  The eternal life that comes after the death of your human life here on earth.  The life you will have in Heaven with Jesus.  No pain, no fear, no tears, no death, no hopelessness, no worries, no sickness, disease, addiction, abuse or anything related to anything negative we feel on this earth!  Why the heck would you NOT want that in your life here on earth?  Why would you NOT want that eternal life in Heaven with Jesus, your Creator, the One who loves you more than any you will ever have in your life.  Stop doubting there is a God, stop doubting there could actually be someone out there that created you with purpose and there is a reason why you are here.  Do you really think so little of yourself that you wouldn’t want more?  Accept Him today, allow His love and grace to penetrate and change your life.  Be free!

Psalms 52: 7-9 Common English Bible says “Look at them!  They didn’t make God their refuge.  Instead they trusted in their own great wealth.  They sought refuge in it- to their own destruction!”  But I am like a green olive tree in God’s house; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and always.  I will give thanks to you, God, forever, because you have acted, in the presence of your faithful people, I will hope in your name because it’s so good.

Proverbs 12:3 The Message says “You can’t find firm footing in a swamp, but life rooted in God stands firm.”