Responses to opposition - the blame game

This week we are studying the ways that believers respond to the opposition that the devil uses on us. He pulls out all the stops to prevent us from making progress on our relationship with God.
Sometimes we get distracted and go back to our old ways of doing things.

Sometimes we get discouraged and settle for second best. It might be that some of the Jewish people in Ezra 4 thought, "Yay, we are out of Babylon. Here we are in the old homeland. I guess if we can't have a temple we will just have to muddle along without one. But hey, it's not so bad, right?" But without the temple, they couldn't worship God as they should have. Not the way that He had laid out for them. They wouldn't have a spiritual "homeplace" or center of worship for their nation.
Nowadays, a new believer may try to make a new beginning with the Lord, but when the enemy attacks, they back off. They settle into "second best" in a spiritual sense -- it's not the vibrant, growing relationship that the Lord Jesus offers when we give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. At best, it's mediocre. And the devil, meanwhile, is grinning at his own success.

Another response to the devil's opposition is to employ the blame game. When the whisper campaign and accusations started up, and when the bribed officials started causing trouble and roadblocks, some of the people may have grumbled. They may have blamed their leaders, Zerubbabel and Jeshua for their leadership in the plan to rebuild the temple. After all, none of the surrounding tribes got upset about their coming back and building the altar, and offering sacrifices......it was when they started building the temple that the trouble began. "Why did our leaders get us into this? Maybe it wasn't God's will?"
They didn't have Paul's admonition to look toward:

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. (Ephesians 6:12)

We do have to remember that we are opposed by, and we are working against, the unseen forces of wickedness.
Are things going "wrong" at church?
Are things going "haywire" in our relationships with other believers?
It's easy to grumble against other Christians and against our leaders. What should we do instead? Working together is number one:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Praying together is number two:

 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)

Moving ahead with what the Lord wants done in His Kingdom is number three!

Two are better than one,    because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down,    one can help the other up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a)

If we don't the body of Christ can be fractured into angry groups -- each blaming the other for problems that are actually coming from the devil!

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. (I Corinthians 1:10)

Realizing that God's timetable doesn't coincide with our timetable is number four:

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;    it speaks of the end
    and will not prove false.Though it linger, wait for it;    it will certainly come    and will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

The people focused on building their own beautiful homes, and sixteen years after the foundation had been laid, there'd been no more progress on the temple. There's a fine line between waiting on the Lord and spiritual laziness. We can earnestly seek His will and we can trust and wait for Him. That's good. But if we believe He has given us something to do, and then we run into trouble? We can't assume that if the Lord is in it, we won't have setbacks or frustrations. Remember? Unrelenting opposition!
I find it inspiring when this happens to read of other Christians and the wonderful work they've done for Jesus. Reading the story of Gladys Alward and the struggles she overcame can give us perspective and strength. She stood less than five feet tall, but she was a giant of faith -- she dealt with the Chinese government, with local opposition, with being wounded in her flight to save orphans from the Japanese, and with threats against her life by the Chinese government. Undeterred when they denied her access to the mainland, she set up an orphanage in Taiwan, and many hundreds of people were led to Christ by her efforts.
Yes, the enemy will vigorously oppose our every attempt at spiritual advance, and at reaching others for Christ. So far, we've seen some negative ways to respond to his attacks.
Let's be inspired by the likes of Gladys Alward, and let's study some positive ways to respond!
Join me tomorrow, won't you?