OVERCOMING OPPOSITION:

How To Succeed In Doing the Will cf God

by Lisa Osteen

Contents

Foreword

Overcoming Opposition:

How to Succeed in Doing the Will of God

Foreword

by John Osteen

When my daughter Lisa wrote Overcoming Opposition: How To Succeed In Doing the Will of God, she had experienced victory over opposition in many areas of her life, even from her birth. Lisa was born with a condition similar to cerebral palsy. She had no sucking reflexes, no muscle tone. She could not raise her head or cry like a normal child. God miraculously healed Lisa as my wife, Dodie, and I stood on the promises of God in the Bible for her healing. Today, Lisa is perfectly normal in every way.

When Lisa completed this book, she had no way of knowing that in writing the manuscript she was being prepared by God for one of the greatest challenges of her life. Shortly after completing the book, Lisa was routinely opening mail in her office when she opened a box addressed to me. It exploded in her lap. A powerful, deafening pipe bomb exploded, injuring her, riddling her office with debris, nails, shrapnel, and barbed wire and setting her office on fire.

Miraculously, Lisa's life was spared and not one piece of metal penetrated her body. Only minor surgery was needed to close wounds created by the explosion. One emergency official on the scene told me, "Pastor, I want you to know that someone had to be standing between your daughter and that bomb." Thank God, the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them (Psalms 34:7, KJV).

Lisa has once again overcome opposition and continues her personal ministry all over the world. As you read this book, you, too, will discover that you can stand in the storms of life and overcome opposition in every area. I challenge you to stand against the forces of darkness and let the Greater One who dwells within you give you success in doing the will of God in your life.

Overcoming Opposition:

How to Succeed in Doing the Will of God

The book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament is a small book, but it has a great story which is very relevant to you and me today. It teaches that we can overcome opposition in order to do what God has called us to do.

Nehemiah was an ordinary man, a layman who was cupbearer to the King of Persia. (This was during the time the Jews were in captivity there.) One day God called him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls around the city. This wasn't an easy task because the city had lain in ruins for over 100 years. Nehemiah had never been a builder. He had never been a minister or great leader. He was just a man who had a heart for God and who was willing to obey God's call to rise up and lead the Jews in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.

I believe with all my heart that every Christian has a call upon his or her life. God has called us and set us aside for a special purpose. Whether you are a minister, a pastor, or a layperson, God has chosen you to accomplish certain things for Him. He has put dreams and desires in your heart and given you a vision. Believing for a loved one to come into the Kingdom of God, for healing in your body, for your financial needs to be met, or whatever God has put in your heart may seem to be a difficult task. But when God calls you to that task, He will help you.

God isn't looking for a great leader, a great minister. He is looking for someone like Nehemiah—someone like you who is willing to rise up and do what He has called you to do. Anyone who is willing to cooperate with God can see great things done for Him.

God often calls us to do things which we are not humanly qualified to do. He chooses the weak things of the world to confound the strong, the foolish things to confound the wise (see 1 Corinthians 1:27).

Nehemiah was afraid in the beginning. He had to approach the king for permission to leave his job and to rebuild the wall. He even had to ask the king for the necessary permits and supplies. The Bible says he was very much afraid (Nehemiah 2:2). But something happened to him when he stepped into the presence of the king. Suddenly, he spoke with the boldness of the Holy Spirit, and the king granted all of his requests.

When God calls you to a task, He anoints you to do it. He equips you and empowers you. He gives you the strength, courage, and boldness you need to see it done.

Nehemiah said, The gracious hand of my God was upon me (Nehemiah 2:8). He knew he was anointed. He knew he was called. He sensed it when he went into the presence of the king. One minute he was dreadfully afraid, and the next minute he was speaking with the boldness of the Holy Ghost.

God will anoint you and equip you the same way He did Nehemiah. He will give you the talents, the gifts, the wisdom—whatever you need—to accomplish the task He has called you to do. Don't ever let fear stop you! The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind (KJV). Don't ever let a lack of qualifications stop you. Zechariah 4:6 says, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts (KJV). It's by the Spirit of God that victories come. It's by the Spirit of God that your ministry will be born and become powerful. It's by the Spirit of God that you will receive the desires that God has put in your heart. By His Spirit you will have the victories, so don't let fear stop you. Rise up and be willing like Nehemiah to step forth and do what God has called you to do.

Nehemiah went to Jerusalem...and 52 days later, the walls were supernaturally completed! Nevertheless, Nehemiah faced great opposition in accomplishing his task. He had a battle on his hands. Just because God called him to the work didn't mean the walls automatically stood up. They didn't fall into place overnight. Nehemiah had to fight to get the job done. He knew how to face opposition and how to overcome it.

Perhaps you are facing opposition today. Anytime you do anything for the Lord, you will face opposition. The devil is going to attack you. Whenever something worthwhile is going on in the Kingdom of God, Satan will launch an all-out effort to stop it. What you are doing for God is worthwhile. The ministry you have is worthwhile. That loved one you are believing God for is worthwhile. Whatever it is you are doing is worthwhile in the eyes of God, and the devil doesn't like it. The Bible tells you to, Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11). The devil has schemes and strategies that he uses to try to stop the work of God in your life, but, thank God, the strategies of the Holy Ghost are more powerful than the strategies of the devil.

Isaiah 54:17 (Amplified) says, No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This peace, this righteousness, this security, this triumph over opposition is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. God has promised that you can triumph over opposition. It's won't always be easy, but you can overcome every obstacle the devil puts in your way.

The devil used people to oppose Nehemiah. Sanballat was the governor of Samaria and an important person in Jerusalem at this time. Tobiah was a corrupt official from a nearby nation. Neither of these men liked what Nehemiah was doing, and they attacked him in three different ways: through persecution, discouragement, and compromise.

These are three major schemes the devil will use to try to defeat you. He will cause you to be persecuted and to be discouraged, and then he will tempt you to compromise. But Nehemiah overcame in all three of these areas, and you can, too!

Nehemiah faced persecution

In doing God's work, we all face persecution, including ridicule and criticism. Nehemiah 2:19,20 says, But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?" I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

Chapter 4:1-6 goes on to say, When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?"

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said,

"What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!"

What awful, cruel things to say! But did Nehemiah get angry? No, he turned to God. He prayed, Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders. So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

The first stage of Satan's attack on Nehemiah was persecution, ridicule, and criticism. The Bible says, Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). Persecution is something we have to expect if we want to live a godly life and do great things for God.

These men attacked Nehemiah's plan. They tried to make him doubt the legitimacy of his task. They said, "You're rebelling against the king. You're feeble; you can't do that." They played mind games with Nehemiah. They attacked his faith. But Nehemiah cared so much about the job he was doing that he had committed his life to the task. He wasn't afraid of the king because he had already dealt with the king before starting the work.

When you make a decision to step out in faith and trust God, the devil will send people to criticize and ridicule what you're doing. They'll try to make you doubt the call of God on your life. They'll ask, "What are you doing? Why are you pastoring this church? Why are you building a Bible school? Why are you writing that book? Why are you believing God for healing? Don't you know that healing has passed away?" The devil uses people against you. He'll play mind games and try to make you think the work you're doing for God was all your idea, that you're just doing something on your own.

My dad has told the story so many times of coming back to Houston to pastor Lakewood Church. He had been overseas, holding great crusades, when God spoke to him to come back to Texas and pastor a small church. At the time, the congregation was meeting in a feed barn. But he obeyed God and came back.

Not long after, a fellow minister told him, "John Osteen, what are you doing, pastoring this tin barn with these few people?" My dad looked at him and said, "I'm doing exactly what God told me to do." Other people told him, "You should be evangelizing around the world. You should be on the other side of town. Why don't you move to the good side of town?" But my dad stayed right where God wanted him to stay. And today thousands of people flow in and out of Lakewood Church's 8,200-seat sanctuary each week.

The devil uses people to try to confuse you, mix you up, and get you off track. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 tells us to cast down the thoughts of the devil. You see, the mind is a battlefield. It's not people who are really against you; it's the devil who is behind it all. You have to deal with the real enemy. You have to recognize that those discouraging, troubling thoughts are not from God— they're from the devil. And you have to deal with him.

What did Nehemiah do when people began to persecute him? He didn't appeal to the king, even though he could have. He could have said, "King, these people are bothering me out here. Why don't you just put them in jail? Why don't you get them off my back?"

But Nehemiah didn't do that He appealed to God. He prayed.

In Chapter 2, verse 20, Nehemiah says, I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success." This was not Nehemiah's wall; it was God's wall. It was not Nehemiah's plan; it was God's plan. The people building the wall were God's people. Nehemiah wasn't interested in justifying himself or arguing and fighting over what he was doing. He wasn't interested in man's opinions. He was only interested in doing the will of God. He just kept on building.

When you're persecuted and criticized, don't ever retaliate. Yes, it hurts when people criticize and put you down, but the best thing you can do is talk to God.

David, the great psalmist and Old Testament king, was greatly criticized. In Psalm 109:1,4 David says, O

God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, for wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying tongues. With words of hatred they surround me; they attack me without cause. In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer. And in Psalm 54:3,4 he says, Strangers are attacking me; ruthless men seek my life—men without regard for God. Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

Sometimes people you don't even know will attack you. They will say things to discourage and hurt you.

But David said, "I am a man of prayer. I will not take revenge; I will pray instead."

When you are doing God's work, don't argue and try to justify yourself to men. What you are doing is God's idea. He gave you the plan, and He will give you the power to see it accomplished. He has called you to this task, so don't let the devil convince you that God doesn't have a call on your life.

Even Jesus was greatly persecuted during His time on earth. The religious people hurled their insults at Him, but He kept His peace. The devil even tried to make Him doubt who He was. After Jesus had fasted in the wilderness for 40 days, the devil said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread" (Matthew 4:3).

Now that just shows you what the devil is really like. He knew who Jesus was, but here he is saying, "Jesus, IF you're the son of God...." He was trying to make Jesus doubt who He was.

And the devil will try to make you doubt who you are, too. "If you really are a minister.... If you really are called by God...." The Bible says, When they hurled their insults at him [Jesus], he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23). You can also trust yourself to God, and He'll take care of the rest. You can say, "God, I know You called me and anointed me. And although these people are criticizing me and ridiculing me, I'm just trusting myself to You. I thank You that You will take care of this work, that You'll take care of me, and that You'll take care of my family. Amen." You can say like Nehemiah, "The God of heaven will give me success."

Nehemiah faced discouragement

Nehemiah 4:7-15 says, When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it. But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall." Also our enemies said, "Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work."

Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, "Wherever you turn, they will attack us."

Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

If the devil can't defeat you through persecution, he'll try to discourage you. He'll try to get your eyes on the circumstances to make you think that it's not going to work, that you're not going to make it.

Sanballat and Tobiah were threatening to kill the Jews. They were stirring up trouble day and night, and it was starting to wear the Jews down. They began to look at circumstances. Can you imagine the great wall in rubble all around them, stones and bricks crumbling at their feet? As they looked at that, they started saying, "We can't make it through all this rubble. Our strength is failing."

The devil will try his best to discourage you. He'll do everything he can to get your eyes off God's work and the vision He has given you. He'll show you everything negative about your situation—that you don't have the money you need right now, that there are symptoms in your body, that your loved one is worse off now than he or she ever was, that your church is not growing, that your ministry is not successful.

When you start looking at things in the natural, you'll begin to see the impossibilities of your situation. (God has called many of us to tasks that are impossible in the natural.) If you concentrate on the rubble around your feet, your strength will begin to give out.

What did Nehemiah do to overcome discouragement? The first thing he did was to keep on working. I like Nehemiah. He never stopped doing the work of God. He didn't give the devil that satisfaction. He didn't give Sanballat and Tobiah the satisfaction of knowing their attacks were having any effect at all.

The second thing Nehemiah did was to get the people's attention back on God. He got them to see the real picture. He said, "Don't be afraid of our opponents. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome."

Second Corinthians 4:18 says, We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The devil will try to trick you by getting you to talk about and look at your negative circumstances. Don't do it. Keep your eyes on God who is your Miracle Worker. He is great and awesome. He is your Deliverer and Healer. He is your Provider. Keep your eyes on God, and don't allow yourself to be diverted. If you keep your eyes on Jesus, you won't succumb to discouragement. You won't give in to the temptation to give up on what God has called you to do.

Psalm 33:10,11 says, The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. And Psalm 46:1,2 says, God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

You don't have to fear even when everything around you says, "It's not working!" God is your refuge and strength. He will deliver you. He will fulfill the plans for your life.

Nehemiah faced compromise

Nehemiah had battle after battle. The devil really tried to wear Nehemiah down, but he couldn't do it through persecution or discouragement. So what did he try next? Compromise.

Nehemiah 6:1-16 says, When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates—Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono." But they were scheming to harm me; so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter in which was written:

"It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ’There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us confer together."

I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head." They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed."

But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands."

One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you."

But I said, "Should a man like me run away? Or should one like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!" I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.

Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who have been trying to intimidate me.

So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days. When all our enemies heard about this and all the surrounding nations saw it, our enemies lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

The devil couldn't get Nehemiah through persecution or discouragement, so he tried to get him through compromise. This is the devil's way every time. If he can't intimidate you, demoralize you, or discourage you, he will strongly tempt you to compromise what God has called you to do. And so often the greatest temptation to compromise is on the doorstep of victory.

Compromise came to Nehemiah when he only had one more thing to do—hang the gates on the wall. Satan knows where we're vulnerable. First Corinthians 10:12 (Living Bible) says, Be careful. If you are thinking, "Oh, I would never behave like that"—let this be a warning to you. For you too may fall into sin. You have to be careful and watch yourself. Compromise is voluntary defeat. It's willfully yielding yourself to the devil. It's settling for less than God's best.

The devil will tell you, "You've done enough for God; you can stop now... You don't have to do it exactly as God said; just do it your way... You can cheat a little here... You can do this or do that... You can lie a little in order to get by... God doesn't know what He's talking about. If you're going to have a successful ministry, you've got to do this or that..."

Don't believe him. The devil will strongly tempt you to compromise and do something other than what God has called you to do. My dad could have yielded to those people who wanted him to move to the rich side of town. He could have said, "Well, you know, I am a big preacher now, and I guess I should move over on the good side of town and build a big church and settle down for the rest of my life. I'll have a big church and a good salary." They tried to tempt him to compromise and do something other than what God had called him to do, but he refused.

The devil will pull the same trick on you. He'll send people into your pathway to get you to do things that are not right. The devil tried to lure Nehemiah with an invitation to discussion. After all, what's wrong with talking? What's wrong with looking at all the possibilities and options? What's wrong with cheating a little bit? What's wrong with moving over into the world a little bit?

That's what Nehemiah could have said, but he knew that no good ever comes from compromising with the enemy. He didn't fall for it. He said, "I'm too busy. I have a great work to do, and I don't have time to come and talk to you." He was strong. He refused to compromise.

You cannot afford to play around with compromise. You have to pass up those opportunities and close the door to them. Don't ever do what's wrong; always do what's right. Always walk in integrity. Always walk in truth. Don't let the devil convince you to let down your standards even a little bit. Take a strong stand like Nehemiah and say "NO!" Just tell the devil, "No, I've got a job to do. I've got an important task to complete. I'm going to keep on doing what God has called me to do.

Sanballat and Tobiah went so far as to send a false prophet to Nehemiah. Shemaiah prophesied to Nehemiah and tried to get him to go into the Holy of Holies of the temple. This is the place where only the high priest could go, and it would have violated the law of God if Nehemiah had stepped in there. In the natural Nehemiah could have thought, "You know, God has called me to be a great leader, and I've rebuilt the wall. I think I deserve to go into the Holy of Holies, especially since it's to save my life." But Nehemiah didn't think that. He refused. He saw right though Shemaiah's false prophecy.

You know, it's very important who you listen to. No true man or woman of God will prophesy anything that is against the Word of God. The Bible says prophecy is for edification, comfort, and exhortation (see 1 Corinthians 14:3). It's to confirm what God has already put in your heart. Don't allow people to prophesy over you and get you to give up what God has called you to do.

The devil will send people to tell you, "I have a word from the Lord. He wants you to change the direction of your life and change your ministry. I think you're really called to this instead." Don't listen to that. God is on speaking terms with you! If He wants you to know something, He'll tell you. Don't allow people's prophesies to divert you from what God has called you to do. Stick to the Word, stick to prayer, stick to the task God has given you.

What did Nehemiah do to help him win the battles over persecution, discouragement, and compromise? He did three things that I believe are really three keys to overcoming opposition.

Nehemiah was single-minded

Nehemiah made up his mind that he wasn't going to let anything or anyone deter him from doing God's will. James 1:7,8 says, That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. David said in Psalm 16:8, I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Proverbs 4:25-27 says, Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

You need this kind of determination. You have to literally fix your eyes on what God has called you to do. Don't look to the left or to the right. Be stable, a man or woman of strong faith. Be single-minded in what God has called you to do. Be careful that you don't get involved in areas that are outside God's calling for you.

Jesus said, My yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:30). If you're feeling a great burden, a great pressure, you need to see if you're doing exactly what God has called you to do. Don't be diverted.

Nehemiah first won the victory in prayer

The first two chapters of Nehemiah tell us that he spent four months in prayer before he ever began to build the walls of Jerusalem. It only took him 52 days— less than two months—to build the walls, so he spent more than twice as much time praying about the job as he spent actually doing the work.

Nehemiah invested his time wisely. It was through prayer that he knew God had called and anointed him, and the victory he won in prayer became the basis for all his victories on the wall. When he came out of that four months of prayer, he said, "I knew the hand of God was upon me. I knew what He had called me to do." Because he had spent time in prayer in the beginning, Nehemiah knew whenever he faced opposition he could turn to God for help. He knew how to pray in the middle of opposition because he had prayed before the opposition started.

Prayer changes you. It strengthens your faith, softens your heart, gives you courage. Prayer molds you into a champion whom God can use.

You have to win the victory in prayer first. You have to get hold of God yourself. If you're in doubt as to what God has called you to do, then get on your face before the Lord and find out exactly from Him what He wants you to do. Jeremiah 33:3 says, Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Win the victory in prayer first, and then no one can take it away from you.

Nehemiah was persistent

No matter what opposition he faced, Nehemiah never quit building the walls. The Bible says, "We built the wall... We closed the gaps... We continued the work... And the wall was completed." All those times he was attacked by the enemy, Nehemiah just kept on working, plugging away. He didn't let the devil stop him. He said, "I have a great task to do."

Persistence always defeats persecution. It always defeats discouragement and compromise. You may have to slow down a little to fight a battle, but don't ever stop working. Don't ever stop going or making progress. You might have to say, "Devil, I may have to slow down a little bit, but I'm not giving up. I'm going to keep going and doing what God wants me to do."

Don't ever stop reading the Word of God. Don't ever stop praying. Don't ever stop walking in love or doing the task He's called you to do.

Hebrews 10:35,36 says, Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. If you persevere, you will receive. If you persevere your task will be completed, your ministry will grow, your body will be healed, your marriage will be changed, your children will come into the Kingdom of God. You don't get anything for quitting. You have to keep on persevering.

Opposition will come. I guarantee it. Whenever you do something for God, you're going to face opposition. The devil will do his best to tear you down, to defeat and destroy you. He'll come at you with persecution, discouragement, and compromise. He'll do everything he can to get you to give up on that call of God on your life.

But, praise God, you can overcome! Like Nehemiah, you can accomplish what God has called you to do. Maybe in the natural the job seems impossible, but nothing is too hard for God. He will see you through.

First, focus on the task to be done and don't let anything distract you. Be single-minded. Push all the doubts and fears from your mind, and put your confidence in the One who has called you.

Second, remember to win the victory in prayer before you start your task. Nehemiah prayed four months before he even approached the king about rebuilding the walls. When you spend time in prayer, you can be sure of your calling and sure of the victory. Then when persecution comes, don't try to fight your battles in the natural. Don't fight against people—fight your battles in prayer. You're not fighting against flesh and blood but against the devil (see Ephesians 6:12), and prayer is the way to win against him.

Third, never give up. No matter what the devil throws at you, no matter what anyone says, no matter what happens, NEVER GIVE UP! You're going to make it! You will succeed if you persist, if you keep going and doing for God. That's the way victory is won! That's the way God's work is accomplished.

Say this prayer with me right now: Father, I thank You that You have called me. Man didn’t call me, but You called me to accomplish this task. And because You called me, You have anointed me, equipped me, and given me the courage I need to see it accomplished. Thank You, Father, that I can and I will overcome all opposition that the devil throws at me because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Osteen is the Director of Ministries at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas. In this role, she oversees 25 Volunteer Ministries as well as the publications and literature outreaches of John Osteen Ministries.

Injured at birth, Lisa developed a condition similar to cerebral palsy which doctors felt would cripple her and probably cause her early death. But as her parents claimed the healing promises of the Word of God, she was miraculously healed before her first birthday.

A graduate of Oral Roberts University, Lisa ministers across the United States and in many foreign countries. She is also the author of the book Six Lies The Devil Uses To Destroy Marriages.

John Osteen says:

"Lisa has overcome opposition in many areas of her life—disease, heartache— even a mail bomb explosion. God keeps giving her the victory! As you read this book, you will discover that you, too, can stand in the storms of life and overcome opposition in every area."

Table of Contents

Foreword

Overcoming Opposition: