The LORD is the Key Master, and He will open doors for you that no one can shut. Seek a relationship with Him and the doors that you need will open when the time comes. No one can stop your destiny, except you. You don't have to win anyone's approval or acceptance on this earth, for God is able to raise you up outside of their circle. As long as you continue to follow God and keep putting one foot in front of the other one, you will overcome all obstacles.

However, don't expect those around you to be encouraging along the way. While God is setting things up for the big event, the enemy is busy trying to stop you from showing up at all. God works through His people. The enemy works through people as well.

Joseph and his brothers are probably the clearest case in the Old Testament. He was given a dream from God, but when he told his brothers, instead of being happy for him, they turned on him. They didn’t just dislike him; they hated him for the dream God given him. Eventually they threw Joseph in a pit and sold him as a slave to some traveling merchants. They tried to strip him of his destiny before it came to pass. Joseph's brothers didn't want to see him living the dream. 

(Genesis 37:18-20 NKJV)  Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

Think of Noah hammering away on that massive ark. He was building a vessel 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet tall. That is a football field and a half. He had over 100,000 square feet of floor space. To put it in perspective, he was basically assembling the equivalent of 570 box cars right there in his front yard.

Also, it may have never rained on the earth before Noah, for the Bible records this and does not mention rain again until the flood (Genesis 7:4): 

(Genesis 2:5-6 NKJV) “For the LORD God had not caused it to rain on the earth… but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.”

So imagine being Noah's neighbor. You see a man dragging massive logs, cutting wood, hammering for decades, and getting covered in pitch. All the while, there isn’t a cloud in the sky or a river for miles. He was preaching righteousness in a culture filled with violence, and everyone else just wanted to party like it was 1999 B.C. They were eating, drinking, and marrying, completely oblivious to the coming judgment.

Noah worked on that project for twenty-five, fifty, seventy-five… a hundred years. You can't do manual labor on that scale for a century without drawing a crowd, and being the punchline of every joke in town. Noah must have been called a crackpot, a crazy preacher, and an old fool more times than there were nails in the ark.

Noah is proof that God’s plans often look ridiculous to people who don't have a relationship with Him. But Noah didn’t need a focus group or a nod of approval from the neighbors. He just believed God enough to get out his tool box and start working on what God told him, despite the ridicule, the backaches, and the splinters. Noah only had to focus on building that boat. The LORD took care of the water supply. You can bet the laughter stopped, when the rain started.

For people can laugh at His servant building an Ark in the yard, but God can drown them out. 

The Prophet Jeremiah is another example. He was called to speak the Word of the LORD, but he ended up prophesying the opposite of every other “popular” prophet. Imagine how many sharp words he heard from the people who grew up with him. Words that were meant to get him to turn back from what the LORD had called him to do.

Then you have Amos, a simple farmer prophesying to high priests. The religious leaders didn’t like him, and didn't listen; they just tried to run him off. They mocked his background because he wasn’t wearing the right robes or holding the right title, but that didn't stop Amos from telling them the word of the LORD.

(Amos 7:14-16 NASB)  Then Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. “But the LORD took me from following the flock and the LORD said to me, ‘Go prophesy to My people Israel.’ “Now hear the word of the LORD: ...’

Mark says that Jesus's own family came out and tried to take Him into custody, saying, “He has lost His senses.” So even Jesus had to deal with people who loved Him but didn’t understand His mission. They tried to use His love for them as a leash to pull Him away from the work He was sent to do.

(Mark 3:20-21 NASB)  And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”

Whether it’s a brother, your mother, a boss, or a neighbor, the enemy will use them to throw stones at you before you ever get to face the giant. He wants you to become discouraged and lose hope before your dream begins.

Another one was David. When he brought supplies to his brothers, he heard Goliath shouting insults at God and the Israelite army who were cowering in fear of the giant. David wasn’t looking for a fight that day; he was just doing the chores. Then he hears Goliath shouting and David speaks up. He’s genuinely confused why no one is standing up for the living God. That’s when his older brother, Eliab, gives him a little encouragement:

(1 Samuel 17:28 NKJV) Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”

Eliab didn’t say, “I’m glad you’re here to help.” Or, “Let’s get this giant together.” Nope. He went straight to attacking David’s character. He called him proud, and insolent. And he tried to make David's work, watching over those "few sheep" for his father, sound like something small and insignificant. He belittled David.

Then David gets in front of King Saul, thinking he’ll finally see some support. Instead, he gets another insult:

(1 Samuel 17:33 NKJV) And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”

Saul looked at David and didn't see a giant killer. He just saw a kid, but he didn’t see the boy who had already fought lions and bears while protecting his father’s flock. He saw a liability, not an asset.

That’s how the enemy works. Most of the time, he doesn’t need a giant to stop you; he uses the people closest to you. He uses your brother’s anger or your boss’s opinion to try and convince you that you aren’t enough. They stick you with those little poison barbs hoping they’ll paralyze you before you ever pick up a stone.

You cannot let the enemy use others to discourage you and distract you from what the LORD has called you to do. He would love nothing more than for God to finally open the door to the main event, and you are so discouraged that you would rather get a nap.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I love and thank You today. Please help me guard against the attacks of the enemy and recognize when You are speaking to me. I want what You want, LORD. Fulfill Your perfect will in my life. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!