In just 8 verses in the book of Acts, Paul and Barnabas encountered spite, envy, hatred and rejection. Leaders poisoned the people against them and they went from being celebrated as heroes to being despised as villains.
It was an awful period of opposition and yet the Bible says, “The disciples were filled with joy…” (Acts 13:52). How is that possible? How could they go through such devastating attacks and come out the other side happy?
The answer is simple, they were well trained. I’m going to come back to the how in a moment but first, let’s see how this is relevant for you.
You have a mission. We are all called to share the love of Jesus with those who don’t know Him. We also each have a unique mandate. Your mission is your purpose in life.
The fight
God wants you to fulfil your purpose. However, the devil wants to stop you and he will use any dirty tactic to get his job done. The enemy is always seeking to make you slow down or even give up altogether.
He throws discouragement, disappointment, rejection, failure, jealousy and every other trick in the book to stop you in your tracks. He wants to weaken your faith and drain away your desire.
Maybe there is something positive that you were pursuing with all your heart and you got knocked back along the way? Perhaps you have encountered opposition like Paul and Barnabas? So how did the apostles stay happy no matter what the devil was hurling?
How did they do that?
It is simple. They were well trained. When Jesus sent His disciples out to preach the gospel, He gave them some very clear instructions:
“And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet…” Luke 9:5
Jesus said something very similar again in Luke 10:11. What’s the point? He was training His disciples how to react to opposition. He was teaching them what do do with rejection and hatred.
Push back!
We need to shake the dust of antagonism off our feet. We need to reject the rejection that comes to intimidate us. When the enemy tries to silence us with spite, we need to push back. We need to kick back and put him in his place!
“Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again” Proverbs 24:16
I don’t know what the devil has done to try to get you down, but I do know that that it’s time to get back up and kick back. Satan can’t stand it when you get back up, more determined than before.
If you would like to be fighting fit so that you can fulfil your purpose, read our books which are all designed to get you ready for your destiny. And come to Healed for Life, you will be amazed at how God transforms your life & refreshes you from the inside out.
