Ever notice that every time you try to do something worthwhile, things get hard? You can scroll fb mostly undisturbed, but as soon as you start studying your Bible five people and two animals suddenly need your attention. You may be able to read the news undisturbed, but try to have a necessary phone conversation and suddenly you get two other calls and three texts. You volunteer to do a project on your computer for your church and suddenly your computer develops issues. I don’t think these are coincidences. There is always resistance to the good.

This is true on the physical level. Want to have a productive garden? You must battle the weeds, the deer, the bugs, and dear Husband added, the gophers. Easy is rarely associated with productive.  Of course, this isn’t news to us.

Ever since Adam and Eve, this has been the universal human experience. Despite enjoying a perfect environment that cooperated with their efforts, they rebelled against God’s command thus opening the door to forces of resistance that would make their lives difficult and painful.

“the ground is cursed because of you.
All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
though you will eat of its grains.
By the sweat of your brow
will you have food to eat”.  God in Genesis 3:17-19

Soon it became apparent that this resistance was not just in the physical realm. All good and productive efforts would be met with opposition. Often the opposition would come from within. Our own fear, laziness, blindness, anger, or pride would work against us and hinder our good intentions and efforts. We want to be good parents, but we’re flawed humans who sometimes react in anger or we’re blind to needs. We want to be godly, but we’re lazy about Bible reading and prayer, or we get discouraged by our shortcomings. On a daily basis, we have to fight the resistance within.  Resistance comes from other flawed humans, as well as the forces of evil in the spiritual realm.  Oh, and did I mention?   Just living in a broken world brings plenty of resistance.  Obviously, I bit off more than I could chew in one small blog.  So this week we’ll only look briefly at Bible stories of opposition from others.  I suddenly realized that every godly person in Scripture faced opposition so I had plenty to choose from!

Opposition from the Jealous- “You shouldn’t have all the fun.”  Moses faced this from his own siblings.  But God defended him.

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.” Numbers 12:1-2

Opposition from the Envious- “I want what you have/are going to get.”

“Some worthless scoundrels gathered around him [Jeroboam] and opposed Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to resist them.” 2 Chronicles 13:7

Rehoboam was the new, rightful heir to the throne of the nation having just succeeded his father, King Solomon. But an influential and charismatic man opposed him, wanting to become king himself. Stirred up by this man, the people made demands on the new king. The young king didn’t know how to respond, so he sought advice. Unfortunately, he listened to the wrong advice and alienated the majority of his people. Thus, the kingdom was divided, the opponent taking the larger part leaving only a small loyal segment for the rightful, but unwise young king. Moral of the story: Opposition takes advantage of our weak points. Get good back-up and advice. Make sure those who give you advice have earned the right to advise.

Opposition from the Rebellious – “You aren’t doing a good job. I know a better way.”

“All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?  And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” . . . the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. . . . these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord.”  Numbers 14:2-4,10, 37

Moses faithfully executed his calling from God to lead his people in spite of continual, and sometimes vehement opposition to his God- appointed leadership. Moral of the story: Doing God’s will can be very hard, but God sees our faithfulness and protects us.

Opposition from the Ungodly.
Since the very beginning of human history, the godly have been opposed by the ungodly. Abel was killed by his brother, Cain, because his right standing with God infuriated Cain. Many righteous prophets were imprisoned or killed because they dared to correct kings and the people with warnings from God. The Lord Jesus, the completely righteous one, was killed by his envious opponents. His closest followers were martyred. And the bloody trail of opposition leads to this very day. So how can we say that God protects his own? On the most enduring level, he protects their souls. Although they may lose their present physical bodies in death, they are forever safe in the arms of their Heavenly Father ready to be ushered into the New Heavens and the New Earth where they will live in peace and happiness rewarded for their sacrifice here on this broken earth.

“These are the ones who died in the great suffering. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. . .
And he who sits on the throne
will give them shelter.
They will never again be hungry or thirsty;
they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun.
For the Lamb on the throne
will be their Shepherd.
He will lead them to springs of life-giving water.
And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:14-17

Sometimes God does deliver his faithful ones in this life. In the case of Shadrach, Mishach, and Adbednego, God intervened miraculously and  delivered them unharmed from the fiery furnace as a testimony to his power and their faithfulness. But they were willing to die rather than deny their God.

“I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made . . . But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”- King Nebuchanezzar

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Daniel 3:15-18

Opposition is part of living in a world with other flawed humans.  God reserves the right to choose whether he protects and prolongs our earthly lives in the face of opposition, whether we are put aside by prison or sickness, or whether it’s our time to go to be with him.  We know the happy ending of the story and we know Who wins!