Anyone that has ever risen from the couch and declared their intentions to work for the kingdom of God has felt the resistance of our negative human nature.

Whenever God’s children feel a passion to demonstrate their convictions, it would be a good idea to be prepared for resistance and even persecution. It’s not only our intimidation about what others might think about us, but it’s also the challenge of imposing discipline over our own will. It’s true, we will face adversity, and it’s disheartening to realize that most people are not interested in our vision, which is why we must stay focused and remember our accountability is to God. An important aspect of spiritual warfare is between what He wants and how determined we are to do it.

It’s less painful to live according to our perceptions than to accomplish what the Lord has planned for us. Our human nature is clever and feels perfectly satisfied living in the apathy of denial. With the natural ability to have selective hearing and seeing, a person can go through their entire life living however they want instead of allowing God to open their spiritual eyes. There is an old saying, “As we discover what God wants us to be, we are then faced with deciding just how much we will do.” When we are convicted to take the bull by the horns so to speak, we are setting ourselves up to be tested within the deepest recesses of our being. Everyone wants to be loved and appreciated because feeling good about ourselves is a huge part of our psychological and emotional stability. However, when we place too much emphasis on our emotional feelings and not enough on being obedient to God, we are already deceived and defeated by compromise.

We are emotional beings but we cannot afford to be controlled by them and one of the most difficult challenges is to develop our spiritual discernment to the point where we know the difference between God’s voice from everyone else’s including our own. Have you noticed when you sense the Holy Spirit beckoning you to say or do something for God, immediately other influences and persuasions trying to talk us out of it? There are powerful forces at work attacking our thinking to manipulate, distort and control our attitudes, emotions, and our relationship with Jesus. Fear is trying to hinder our faith, but we need to realize that we have the choice to allow it to dominate us or we can resist it. Our trust in God includes allowing Him to rule and reign within our mind which is a key component to Him being our Lord. He desires to possess us, but without us willingly surrendering our will to Him, we will not reach our intended spiritual destiny. This is why we should study God’s Word every day and constantly ask the Lord to give us more sensitivity, wisdom, and courage to execute self-discipline. Our destiny was given for us to fulfill, but if we are not interested, He is not going to do it for us.

Most people want just enough of God to save them but not to the point where it would require them to be uncomfortable or live according to a strict standard. It’s much easier to wade in the baby pool that’s only up to our ankles instead of jumping in over our head with total dedication and commitment to His commands.

Until we step out of our default existence and into His divine reality, we will never comprehend the deliberate pursuit of living on purpose. We are first in line for His help and blessings but hardly excited about words like sacrifice, perseverance, and accountability. So, just how much of God are you seeking and how important is it to obey Him? I’m reminded how the discipline of participating in sports is similar to the dedication and determination needed to be an overcoming Christian. Champions work hard and have an intense vision of who and what they want to achieve which is another reason why most people are spectators instead of participators. A truth seeker is listening, learning, and focused on God’s voice and is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the vision they have been given. Are you satisfied with the amount of God that you have? You see, the only obstacle preventing us from being saturated with God’s presence is our resistance to surrender our lives completely to Him.

Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com