Family Friday: Spiritual Resistance To Walking With God

Any Christian knows that there is resistance to walking with God. Sometimes the resistance comes from without, and sometimes the resistance comes from within. There are several things the Bible speaks of that cause resistance. If you know anything about electricity, you know that there are several factors that create resistance to the ability of electrons to flow across a wire. These factors reduce the amount of power able to reach the object you are wishing to supply power to. If God is the source of power, and we are the ones who need that power and strength, then walking with God is like being plugged into Him. Our walk with God is the wire, our connection to the source of power. It is important that we have a conductor from God to us, but along that route there is resistance. This resistance reduces the power, strength, blessings, and joy that we get from God. It is essential that we reduce as much of the resistance as possible to enjoy as much as possible from our God. SATAN Zechariah 3:1 “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.” In electricity, the thickness of the wire allows more free electrons to flow through it. The thinner the wire, the more resistant it is to power. Satan wants to restrict you as much as possible. He will resist your walk with God. He will seek to stem the tide of grace, mercy, power, and love from God to you. If he can keep your walk with God thin, stretched out, and weak, we will not enjoy the fullness of God. Satan will throw things our way that will distract us, reduce our time with God, and consume what we get from God faster than we can get it. Satan seeks to resist what you can get from the Lord! DISTANCE Acts 7:51 “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.” 2 Timothy 3:8 “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” In electricity, the greater the distance to the source of power, the more resistance there is to the flow of free electrons. There are just more things that can go wrong. There are more barriers and unexpected twists. In our Christian life, distance from God is equal to our acceptance of Him in our life. The further away from Him we find ourselves the more resistant we are to Him, His will, and His truth. Our unwillingness to accept some of the things about God or Christianity distances us from God. This distance brings more resistance. We add too many variables that distract us from getting the power of God. There are too many barriers and things that can go wrong. PRIDE Pride is a scary resistance. In this case, it is not Satan resisting your access to God, nor is it you necessarily distancing yourself from God, but pride causes God to resist you! James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. “ You may spend a lot of time in prayer, Bible study, and church. But if you have pride, God is resisting you!  As you can imagine, this is not good. Pride is a resistor to the power of God. Whereas humility brings a free flow of grace and power from God, pride will bring resistance from God Himself! Often, pride isn't resistance to God or the things of God; it is the desire to control these things, to dominate them, or to be known for them. God, however, resists this concept emphatically! A Christian can serve God in pride. A Pastor can preach in pride. A Sunday School teacher can teach in pride. Pride is where you love to serve God so that you might have the preeminence, to have the spotlight shining on you!  God will resist you!  Humility is about submitting to Him. It is not about you. It is not about what you do. It is about God. It is submitting yourself to the will of Jesus Christ, not choosing to follow your will in service to God. These are a few of the Biblical resistors in our life. If we want to enjoy the fullness of God in our homes and with our families, we need to reduce or eliminate these resistors. In electricity, a superconductor is a conductor with a resistance of zero. That is the goal of every Christian. We want to be superconductors to the power of God in our life.