Takeaways:
Type of Oppositions:
1- Self (Yourself)
2- The Laws of Nature
3- Human Laws (Including constitutions, International and Territorial Laws)
4- Life’s Circumstances
5- Herods and Labans
6- Powers of Darkness
7- God

Excerpts:

“But the other side of the truth is that some of the greatest dreams and visions achievers in the world rose from those same circumstances and did not allow them to disrupt their purpose and destiny in life, but instead were empowered and press harder towards the marks of their dreams and visions and made them happened anyway. Don’t let the circumstances of life override your dreams and visions. Make up your mind that whatever it may be, you will survive and prevail against it and surely bring your dreams and visions to realization by the help of God Almighty.”

“It may be the death of a loved one, father, mother, brother, mentor or somebody you look up to. It may be a wife or husband you think you will spend the rest of your life with in a marriage, but the marriage or relationship ends in a separation or divorce. It may be a job or position you think you will hold for a certain period, but end up losing that job or position. It may be a rejection, debt, health issues and many other negative situations in life. These life’s tragedies or circumstances can be an opposition for your dreams and visions; and many times leaving you disappointed, discouraged, hopeless and weak. And some people because they couldn’t overcome these tragedies, plunge themselves in other worse things like drugs, sexual immorality, denial etc… in trying to nub their pain and that finally kills their purpose and destiny in life.”

“For example, when Moses was born in Egypt, the human or man-made law by the king (the authority) was to kill and/or cast into the river all male born of the Hebrew mothers (Exodus 1: 15-16; 22). Had it not been that the midwives feared God and let the male born lived (Exodus 1: 17-20), Moses would have been killed or cast into the river and never fulfilled his purpose and destiny in life. But God gave her courageous mother wisdom to deal with the whole situation. She put him (Moses) in a basket, launched it on the river and asked the sister Merriam to watch him and ask whoever finds Moses if a nurse is needed to take care of the baby.”

TYPES OF OPPOSITIONS

I assume you remember where we left in our conversation the last time… Now let’s talk about some oppositions you face in life or while you are pressing towards your dream or vision in life. There are many other things we can mention here, but let just deal with the major ones. I have found these oppositions or things to be so real and opposing in every person’s life one way or the other each and every day. You do experience them, they oppose you here and there. I named some of the oppositions according to the names of the persons in whom it was revealed or I found them. And would like to share them with you. But first, let’s start with your greatest opposition in life:

1- Self (yourself)

While there are many obstacles and oppositions you may face in life in the pursuit of your dreams and visions, the first and strong opponent you may ever have to fight against and overcome primarily is yourself; I mean your weaknesses or flaws. Your spiritual and physical weaknesses cause 75% of your life problems. Your mistakes, indiscipline, laziness, indifference, stubbornness, incredulity, foolishness, pride, arrogance, greed, selfishness and many other negative characters and attitudes may be the cause of many of the problems you may go through when fighting for your dreams in life. Your first greatest enemy is yourself. Many times we tend to look outside for reasons to blame people for our problems and failures. It’s true sometimes people used by the devil cause some problems in our lives. But it’s true all the same that sometimes we are the cause of our own problems, sufferings, setbacks or delays, broken family, relationship, marriage, business, ministry among many other areas of our lives. The devil can blind and prevent you from detecting the cause of your problems by not looking inside yourself and evaluating your life in general, your character, attitude, dealings and actions. Until you are able to detect the source of your problems in life, you may not be able to solve them and prevent them happening again and again in your life.

Everybody has weaknesses. Having a weakness is not a sin… is letting your weakness overcome and lead you in sin that becomes a sin. Therefore, don’t be ashamed to admit to yourself and people that you have flaws as well as any other human beings. It takes courage to be honest enough with yourself and stop fooling yourself and others that you are perfect and the devil and people are always your opposition or and the cause of all your dilemmas.

Job once said, “But ye should say, why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me? (Job 19: 28, KJV). Check yourself up to see if the cause of the problems or matters, challenges, oppositions or obstacles negatively affecting your education, career, relationship, marriage, business and ministry is not in you. If it’s in you, then look for help from God through prayer to change in those things and better your life in order to better the lives of your loved ones or those who are around and connected to you. You may fulfill some of your dreams, but to fully attain your maximum potential, achievement, fulfillment and spiritual and physical satisfaction, peace and joy in life you need to find the root of the matter (the problem) in you and deal with it until it dies from the root. God can set you free from your weaknesses or flaws if you can only admit and work on them with God by prayer.
Can you find yourself saying what Apostle Paul was honest enough to tell the Romans in his letter to them? It reads, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? (Romans 7: 18-24, NIV).

In nature, man is a sinner, but God can help you overcome your weakness if you let it be. The first opposition in your life maybe yourself; therefore, learn how to control or discipline yourself. By the grace of God, learn how to control your mouth, your feeling, action and sight.

At times I talk to myself, Willie you can’t see that. Willie you can’t have that. Willie you can’t do that. Willie you can’t say that. Willie you can’t be thinking that. Why? Because I know my first enemy or opponent is my own flesh. Your own very mistakes, pride, arrogance, mismanagement, laziness which leads sometimes to sin can fight back against you as an opposition to delay or permanently block your dreams and visions in life. Therefore, to overcome the other oppositions in your life, you need to overcome yourself first. Train yourself to exhibit the fruits of the Spirit as Apostle Paul taught the Galatians. We read, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5: 22-24, NIV).

2- The Laws of Nature

The laws of nature also known as physical or scientific laws were embedded in nature since the creation. However, laws of nature sometimes may constitute an opposition for victory and success or reaching your dreams and goals in life.

What Is a Law of Nature?

To better understand my point here, allow me to superficially in the next few lines, fetch from science. Why? Because it will help us better understand some things I’m about to share with you about how nature can become an opposition and prevent you for reaching your dreams and goals in life. We may not go too much in details in order to stay on course and talk about our main subject. But remember, God is the Author of science. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines “Science” as the state of knowing: knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding. God is Omniscient, which means all-knowing. The Bible says, “For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. “ (I John 3: 20). The natural law also called a physical law or scientific law is a scientific generalization based on empirical observations of physical behavior. Laws of nature are observable. Scientific laws are empirical, describing observable patterns. Empirical laws are typically conclusions based on repeated scientific experiments and simple observations, over many years, and which have become accepted universally within the scientific community. The production of a summary description of our environment in the form of such laws is a fundamental aim of science.

As I will discuss later in the next lines, laws of nature are not identical to religious and civil laws, and should not be mingled with the notion of natural laws. Also, keep in mind that a “physical law” is different from the “law of physics.” For the term “physical law” usually covers laws in other sciences as well as biology.

According to Richard Feynman, an American Jewish physicist and Paul Davies, an English physicist, writer, broadcaster, professor and Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, several general properties of physical laws have been identified (consult Davies (1992) and Feynman (1965). Therefore, we should note that physical laws or laws of nature are:

* True, at least within their regime of validity. By definition, there have never been repeatable contradicting observations.

* Universal. They appear to apply everywhere in the universe. (Davies, 1992:82)

* Simple. They are typically expressed in terms of a single mathematical equation. (Davies)

* Absolute. Nothing in the universe appears to affect them. (Davies, 1992:82)

* Stable. Unchanged since first discovered (although they may have been shown to be approximations of more accurate laws.

* Omnipotent. Everything in the universe apparently must comply with them (according to observations). (Davies, 1992:83)

* Generally conservative of quantity. (Feynman, 1965:59)

* Often expressions of existing homogeneities (symmetries) of space and time. (Feynman)

* Typically theoretically reversible in time (if non-quantum), although time itself is irreversible. (Feynman)

Alright, according to physicist Paul Davies, the laws of nature are omnipotent because apparently everything in the universe must comply with them. The truth is, God is Omnipotent. And I believe the reason why everything in the universe conforms or submits to the laws of nature is because the author of the universe and these laws is Omnipotent. The reason why there is always sunrise and sunset is because God is Omnipotent. The reason why you cannot fetch water with a basket is because God is Omnipotent. The reason why naturally you cannot walk on water is because God is Omnipotent. The only way you can defy, reverse and overcome the laws of nature is when the Omnipotent God operates it in you and through you. We will address the Omnipotence of God later in another chapter.

As real as universal, simple, absolute, stable, and omnipotent the laws of nature are –, God the creator Himself has the power to reverse or change them whenever and however He wants to. But my point here is that the devil can use the laws of nature as an opposition to prevent you fulfilling your dreams and goals in life.

Example 1: The Law of Menopause

Naturally, a woman starts experiencing menopause or climacteric between the ages of 45 and 55. But when God promised Isaac to Abraham and Sarah, (Genesis 17: 19), the couple were in their old age. Nevertheless, God reversed that law of nature and Sarah conceived and gave birth to Isaac at the age of ninety (90) while Abraham was hundred years old (Genesis 21: 1, 5). Right here, we see that menopause and old age could have prevented Abraham and Sarah from reaching their dream. But God–! The Almighty reversed it and made their dream to become a reality. The law of age, health or your physical body can constitute an opposition to your dreams and visions in life, naturally or demonically.

Example 2: The Law of Water (H₂0)

The many rivers, streams and lakes and the sea around the world provide refreshment, dehydration, cleanness, energy …etc. It is noted that all around the world and especially in Industrial Revolution times till today, water contributes to the tools that help production beyond human’s capabilities one way or the other. However, it should also be noted that water can be very dangerous when some laws of nature come into effect like rain, tsunamis and many other forms. Our focus and imaginary here is on the sea.

To get an idea of how vast, deep and dangerous the sea could be, let’ check out these facts. According to marine biology, over 60% of our planet is covered by water more than a mile deep. The deep sea is the largest habitat on earth and is largely unexplored. In fact, according to my notes, human beings have traveled into space than they have traveled to the deep ocean realm. The benthic and abyssal zones are where the cold, dark, deep waters of the ocean are found. These zones are the largest part of the ocean biome covering more than 80% of the vast ocean. The intertidal zone where the water meets land and the pelagic zone, or open ocean, make up a much smaller portion of the total area of the ocean, yet an abundance of ocean life is found in these zones because sunlight penetrates the water. To get an idea of how vast the ocean’s depths are, consider that 79% of the entire volume of the earth’s biosphere consists waters with depths greater than 1,000 m. Until recently, the deep sea was largely unexplored. But advances in deep sea submersibles and image capturing and sampling technologies are increasing the opportunities for marine biologists to observe and uncover the mysteries of the deep ocean realm.

More precisely, let’s check out the characteristics of the Red Sea also known as “The Arabian Gulf”. The red sea is highly salty and known for dangerous depths for divers. The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez (leading to the Suez Canal).

Occupying a part of the Great Rift Valley, the Red Sea has a surface area of roughly 438,000 km² (169,100 mi²). It is about 2250 km (1398 mi) long and, at its widest point, is 355 km (220.6 mi) wide. It has a maximum depth of 2211 m (7254 ft) in the central median trench, and an average depth of 490 m (1,608 ft).

God brought the children of Israel out of slavery from Egypt with mighty signs and wonders, (Exodus chapters 11-12), with promise that He will give them the Land He promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, (Exodus 6: 7-8). However, after they left Egypt, Pharaoh and his people would pursue them till the Red Sea where God made a way throughout for the children of Israel to pass on dry ground to the other side. I want you to personally read the account of the Bible in Exodus 14: 1-31):

The laws of nature (the nature or the sea) could have been an opposition to the children of Israel to get to the Promised Land, because nobody can naturally cross the sea the way they did. But God–! The Almighty made a way where there was no way for them to crossover. Remember the day you had a job interview, a business meeting, or a very important appointment or meeting that could have change your life positively and even leading to greater opportunities, but it was raining, storming or snowing and the weather did not permit and facilitate that. The laws of nature can hurt your dreams and visions one way or the other.

And before we omit this, don’t you think it even took courage for the children of Israel to go through the walls of sea water in order to get to the other side? Of course! Think about this: The Bible says God sent a strong east wind to divide the Red sea (Exodus 14: 21). I have found it very interesting to see God fighting elements of nature with elements of nature through His power. So let’s image what happened. When the strong east wind divided the sea water, there should have been walls of water on both right and left sides of the way made in the sea by God. These walls of water must be huge, raging and noisy enough to scare them not to pass through;– thinking if they ever closed up that would have been the end of their lives and journey. Did God open a door or make a way for you, but you are afraid to utilize it and get to the other side of your dreams and visions in life? It takes even courage to use some God-given opportunities in life to make it happen. Sometimes we pray God to open some doors for us; but then after He opens them we are afraid of going through them or using them. We may argue the children of Israel facing the red sea was God’s set up to demonstrate his supernatural power to them. But note that nature, naturally or demonically can prevent you from fulfilling your dream in life.

Example 3: The Law of Day and Night (Planetary And Satellite Motion)

With no support for some things in astronomy and astrology; especially the divination side of it; one should be note that some facts in planetary and satellite motion may spiritually or physically affect your dreams and visions in life. I mean the day or the night at times can simply be an opposition to your victory. Even though Johannes Kepler, the German Mathematician’s reasons in planetary and satellite motion proposed in 1600s are no more accepted, the actual laws themselves are still considered as an accurate description of the motion of any planet and satellite. These works also provided one of the foundations for Isaac Newton’s theory of universal gravitation.

Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion can be described as follows: The Law of Ellipses, which means the path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the center of the sun being located at one focus. The Law of Equal Areas, which means an imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. And The Law of Harmonies, which means the ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun.

In effect, day occurs on the side of the Earth facing the Sun. And night occurs when the Earth’s rotation turns that side away from the Sun, as only one-half of the sphere’s surface can be illuminated by light from a single point. The same facts apply to the Moon, which due to its rotation always shows one face to the Earth. Differences in its orbital position illuminate all, none, or a portion of its Earthward face. The Earth is tilted on its axis with regard to its orbital plane. This means that some areas will spend longer period in the sunlight each day at various times of the year. In the Arctic and Antarctic, there is six months of daylight and six months of night. In the tropics, days and nights are always 12 hours long. For the places in between, the days will be shorter in winter (tilt means less than 12 hours of day) and longer in the summer (tilt means more than 12 hours in the sunlit area). And when it’s winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa. The Earth rotated about its axis once every 24 hours, plunging about half of the globe into darkness and illuminating the other half at any one time as the Sun comes in and out of view. This is what causes night and day.

Why Joshua Stopped the Sun?

After the death of Moses, (Deuteronomy 34: 5), Joshua the son of Nun who was his minister and servant was called by God to success him. In effect, Joshua became the general of God’s army and leading them to possess the Promised Land. After Joshua and the army of Israel have defeated Ai and so many other strong cities and kings, all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things and those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) came together to wage war against Israel, but did not prevail.

The Gibeonites were ruse, came out to meet Joshua and his army and made a covenant with them to become their servants. When Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard about the peace agreement the Gibeonites made with the Children of Israel, he was furious and somehow desperate and appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon to come up and help him attack Gibeon, he said, “because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” Then the five kings of the Amorites–the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon–joined forces to fight Gibeon.

The Gibeonites were hopeless and sent message to Joshua to come to their rescue and sure enough Joshua under the guidance of God went down with his army to help. On that day, God gave Joshua and the children of Israel victory over their enemies. However, the battle was not over when the sun started going down, it was about to be night. Joshua was smart enough to understand that fighting in the night was not a good idea and may give some advantage to their enemies who well know the place and plus, it may also give them an opportunity to flee away and escape. In another word, the “night”, a law of the nature was about to intercept or stop their victory.

The Bible says, “On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel! (Joshua 10: 12-14). In short, God gave Joshua and the Children of Israel victory over their enemies, but had it not been that Joshua got the insight and prayed for God to stop the sun going down, their victory might not be completed. Again, here also we see how the law of nature constituted an opposition for Joshua and the children of Israel.

3- Human Laws (Including Constitutions, International and Territorial Laws)

I fully believe in all authorities, Devine or God’s Authority, Civil Authority, Church Authority and Parental Authority — Apostle Paul admonishes us, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. “ (Romans 13: 1-3).

While God is even the Author of the moral laws (Exodus 20: 1-17), and ceremonial laws which he gave to the Children of Israel through Moses, the purpose of those laws is for the well-being of humanity or all human beings. The laws were to protect the dignity of human beings spiritually and physically. In effect, all laws that are not to protect human beings spiritually and physically are contrary to the original laws purpose of God. Good or positive laws, some are human, and some divine, these could be criminal and civil laws. Divine laws, also known as God’s Laws, natural laws, are eternal and universal and being the commandments of God universally addressed to all men.

Criminal and civil laws may differ from land to land, territory to territory or country to country. What may be a criminal law somewhere may be a civil law somewhere else. And what may be a civil law somewhere may be a criminal law somewhere else.

The fact is, some man-made laws are protective and good for the safety, security and liberty of the citizens or inhabitants of a particular land. However, some of the man-made laws can become oppositions and negatively impact your purpose and destiny in life. Any ungodly law or law contrary to the Word of God is an opposition to you as a child of God. In another word, these laws may hinder the progress, accomplishment and success of your good purpose and destiny, dreams and goals in life.

For example, when Moses was born in Egypt, the human or man-made law by the king (the authority) was to kill and/or cast into the river all male born of the Hebrew mothers (Exodus 1: 15-16; 22). Had it not been that the midwives feared God and let the male born lived (Exodus 1: 17-20), Moses would have been killed or cast into the river and never fulfilled his purpose and destiny in life. But God gave her courageous mother wisdom to deal with the whole situation. She put him (Moses) in a basket, launched it on the river and asked the sister Merriam to watch him and ask whoever finds Moses if a nurse is needed to take care of the baby.

Eventually, the plan worked: The daughter of the king (Pharaoh) came to the river to bath and found baby Moses floating in a basket on the water. She sent a maid to get the basket and the baby and the sister of Moses (Merriam) proceeded and asked, “Shall I find you a woman among the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” In short, she said “yes”, and the real mother of Moses who set up the plan came to take care of her own baby as a nurse, and Moses grew to become who God created him to be and do the things He created him to do in this world. (Read full story in Exodus chapters 1 and 2)

Is a man-made law hindering you somewhere, somehow, sometime in fulfilling your good dreams, goals, purpose and destiny? Pray, ask the guidance of God and He will give you wisdom to deal with the whole situation. Remember, He makes a way where there is no way, especially if your desire is to do His will and serve others as well.

4- Life’s Circumstances:

It may be the death of a loved one, father, mother, brother, mentor or somebody you look up to. It may be a wife or husband you think you will spend the rest of your life with in a marriage, but the marriage or relationship ends in a separation or divorce. It may be a job or position you think you will hold for a certain period, but end up losing that job or position. It may be a rejection, debt, health issues and many other negative situations in life. These life’s tragedies or circumstances can be an opposition for your dreams and visions; and many times leaving you disappointed, discouraged, hopeless and weak. And some people because they couldn’t overcome these tragedies, plunge themselves in other worse things like drugs, sexual immorality, denial etc… in trying to nub their pain and that finally kill their purpose and destiny in life.

But the other side of the truth is that some of the greatest dreams and visions achievers in the world rose from those same circumstances and did not allow them to disrupt their purpose and destiny in life, but instead were empowered and press harder towards their dreams and visions and make them happened anyway. Don’t let the circumstances of life override your dreams and visions. Make up your mind that whatever it may be, you will survive and prevail against it and surely bring your dreams and visions to realization by the help of God Almighty.

5- Herods and Labans:

At the time the Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was the king of Israel by the Roman Emperor. However, when he heard that another king was born, he was troubled and the whole Jerusalem. Why was he troubled? Because he never wanted another king to exist beside him. The Bible accounts:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ” ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’ “Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.”Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” (Matthew 2: 1-18, NIV).

Selfish people may fight and prevent you becoming like them or even more than them. They may do everything they can to stop you becoming who God created you to be and do the things He created you to do in this world. Selfish people never want somebody to become successful like them. They don’t want you to be happy like them. They don’t want you to be at peace like them. They don’t want you to graduate from school like them. They don’t want you to have a good career like them. They don’t want you to be happily married like them. They don’t want you to own your business or company like them. They don’t want your ministry to be established and grow like theirs in order to fulfill the calling of God in your life like them. Selfish people, I call them Herods. They can be an opposition to the accomplishment of your dreams and visions in life. They pretend like they want your best interest, but they always have ulterior and destructive motives. But don’t let them do it. Pray God to give you the wisdom, knowledge, anointing and capacity to deal with them respectfully, yet firmly in order to fulfill your purpose and destiny and become who God wants you to be and do the things He wants you to do in this world.

The truth is, at times they do that in ignorance. The devil just uses them to chase and destroy your purpose and destiny in life.

Another good example was Laban (Read full story in Genesis chapters 29-31). Jacob duped his father and got blessed by him instead of his elder brother Esau as the firstborn (read full story in Genesis 27: 1-40). When the brother found out, he wanted to avenge for his stolen firstborn blessings.

Rebekah, their mother, and instigator of this unfair act quickly casted another plan for Jacob to flee to Laban, her brother in Haran to escape the fury of Esau until maybe he calms down. In short, Jacob arrived to Laban his uncle’s place in Haran and eventually married two of his daughters, Leah and Rachel after serving him for fourteen (14) years. He served him seven (7) years for Rachel and was also duped by Laban who gave him Leah instead of Rachel and finally asked him to serve for another seven years to have Rachel in marriage (Genesis 29: 1-30).

As you can perceive, Jacob started a beautiful family and was having children. However, Laban his uncle never proposed a salary to him on the revenues his hardworking was producing all these years, even though God blessed him because of Jacob. In another word, Laban never wanted Jacob to become wealthy and also possess many flocks like him. But God being a God of justice would reveal to Jacob and give him wisdom about what to.

The Bible says, “After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me on my way so I can go back to my own homeland. Give me my wives and children, for whom I have served you, and I will be on my way. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.” He added, “Name your wages, and I will pay them.”Jacob said to him, “You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care. The little you had before I came has increased greatly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I have been. But now, when may I do something for my own household?” “What shall I give you?” he asked. “Don’t give me anything,” Jacob replied. “But if you will do this one thing for me, I will go on tending your flocks and watching over them: Let me go through all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. And my honesty will testify for me in the future, whenever you check on the wages you have paid me. Any goat in my possession that is not speckled or spotted, or any lamb that is not dark-colored, will be considered stolen.” “Agreed,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

That same day he removed all the male goats that were streaked or spotted, and all the speckled or spotted female goats (all that had white on them) and all the dark-colored lambs, and he placed them in the care of his sons. Then he put a three-day journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob continued to tend the rest of Laban’s flocks. Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling the bark and exposing the white inner wood of the branches. Then he placed the peeled branches in all the watering troughs, so that they would be directly in front of the flocks when they came to drink. When the flocks were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Jacob set apart the young of the flock by themselves, but made the rest face the streaked and dark-colored animals that belonged to Laban. Thus he made separate flocks for himself and did not put them with Laban’s animals. Whenever the stronger females were in heat, Jacob would place the branches in the troughs in front of the animals so they would mate near the branches, but if the animals were weak, he would not place them there. So the weak animals went to Laban and the strong ones to Jacob. In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys”.

Selfish people, Labans and Herods don’t want you to be like them. Again, they pretend sometimes like they want your best interest, but would show their real mind when the time comes for them to support or help you to be who God wants you to be and do the things He wants you to do. It takes courage to stand your ground in respect, justice, love and peace to proceed and do the will of God the Father.

Ask God to lead you with courage, anointing and capacity in times of oppositions like that to overcome the plans of the enemy. After all, if your dreams and visions are from God and come to pass, it will be a sign and confirmation for them that you were not acting out of pride, arrogance and immaturity. But truly, you were doing the will of God, the Father.

6- Powers of Darkness:

In Daniel 10: 1-19, we find that Daniel was praying and fasting for twenty one (21) day for the purpose and destiny of the children of Israel after they stayed in captivity for more time than God has prescribed to them. God heard Daniel’s prayer and sent Angel Gabriel to bring him the answers to his prayers, but the prince of Persia (a demon) intercepted Gabriel on his way to Daniel and delayed him until Archangel Michael came and fought him to release Gabriel (Daniel 10: 13).

The devil wanted the children of Israel to remain in captivity and never fulfill their purpose and destiny, dreams and visions so he set up an opposition to block even the Angel who was taking Daniel’s prayer answers to him. But Daniel’s persistence in prayer also helped the deliverance of the Angel and eventually received his answers on behalf of the Children of Israel.

The devil, his servants and angels, demons work is to make sure that the purpose of God is never fulfilled in the earth through you. In another word, the devil will try everything possible by using human beings and things to counterattack the accomplishment of your good dreams and visions in this world. That’s why the Bible declares:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6: 10-18, NIV).

Is there any opposition or obstacle on your way to fulfilling your dreams and visions in life? Don’t give up. Fight the good fight to overcome them in the Name of Jesus.

God:

What?… God? Oh yeah… God. God can oppose you when you are going the wrong way to protect you from the expected end of the enemy. In Acts 16: 5-10 we find this to be a confirmation, the Bible says while Paul and his mission companions wanted to enter Bithynia to preach the Gospel, the “Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to”.

God may allow obstacles and so many frustration to try to stop you from something you want to do or somewhere you want to go; and he does this out of love and to protect you against things that you may not know. It’s very important to evaluate some obstacles properly to determine whether they are some of the aforementioned types of oppositions or is God himself preventing you.

We will continue the conversation…