Day 14: Dealing With Haters and Doubters

Welcome to Day 14 of 21 Days to Strengthen Your Faith! Today, we are talking about dealing with haters and doubters–those people who do not believe in your dream, and who even persecute you for having a faith-filled dream.

As a reminder:

In this series, we will examine one short Scripture passage each day.

Then, we will pray through it with a brief series of bullet-point prayers. Each day, our goal is to strengthen our faith by gaining greater revelation about the importance of faith in our lives, and how faith WORKS.

As you strengthen your faith each day, your confidence in God will grow–and you will also begin feeling more brave and willing to go on the great adventures God has for you!

Click here for the series table of contents, in which you can find all the articles in 21 Days to Strengthen Your Faith.

We have also recorded a short video devotional to go with each day’s Scripture verse. Please be sure to watch these videos for extra encouragement and inspiration in your faith journey!

Here is today’s short video word of encouragement:

Today’s key Scripture passage is Galatians 4:29:

“But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now” (Galatians 4:29 NKJV).

Friend, the sad fact is that not everyone will be a fan of your faith.

When you step out to believe God and pursue all that He has for you, some people will think you’re stupid or crazy. You will encounter haters and doubters.

People may tell you that your dream can only happen for other people, but not for you. The enemy will whisper all manner of lies in your ear, and he will often use other people to help him.

But beloved, you have to kick those lies to the curb.

You have to recognize that encountering persecution and even mockery from haters and doubters is just part of the dream-fulfilling process. Remember what Jesus said:

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets” (Luke 6:26 NKJV).

And in Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said:

“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 NKJV).

Of course, He was talking about all manner of persecution. There are worse things than being made fun of for your faith. There are much worse things than having your faith, and your dreams, mocked and maligned.

But I still want you to be encouraged by the words of Jesus:

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known” (Matthew 10:24-26 NKJV).

When you have a dream that is born of the Spirit, people will persecute you for it.

Nevertheless, beloved, you can find comfort in knowing that Jesus was persecuted too. He preached the Gospel of the Kingdom everywhere He went–a beautiful message that people should have honored. He healed the sick, cast out demons, cleansed lepers, and raised the dead. But some people still persecuted Him for it, and eventually crucified Him because they hated Him so much.

But God’s will for your life is still going to made known. The hidden things–those God-sized dreams that are in your heart right now–are still going to come to fruition if you will continue to seek Him first.

Despite the fact that you will encounter persecution.

Look again at Galatians 4:29:

“But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now” (Galatians 4:29 NKJV).

People who are not hearing God, who do not walk in the Spirit but in the flesh, will still persecute you for your faith today. They will often hate on your faith-filled dreams.

But you have to believe God anyway. And you have to go on believing, even when other people don’t believe in your dream, agree with your dream, or even believe in you and God’s call on your life.

And you have to walk in faith anyway.

As you walk through persecution or mockery, having people hate on your dreams, it will help you ignore them if you REALLY get God’s Word in your mouth. Speak God’s promises out loud over yourself and your situation every single day. (That’s why we wrote our best-selling book, Speak Life Volume 1, and its companion volume, Speak Life Volume 2.)

So pray as follows as you deal with haters and doubters in your life:

• Tell the Father that you come to Him in Jesus’ name.
• Thank Him that His Word says we can come boldly before the throne of grace, where we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
• Praise Him for His faithfulness and His goodness to you.
• Thank Him for showing you the things He has for you by His Spirit. Thank Him for the God-sized dreams in your life.
• Thank Him for the reward you have in Heaven as a result of being persecuted.
• Point out to Him that you see the truth of His Word, that those who are walking in the flesh (born of the flesh) are truly not in agreement with the things of the Spirit.
• Tell Him, “Father, You see that I am being persecuted for harboring this faith-filled dream.”
• Thank Him for allowing you to be His servant, and for allowing you to share in His sufferings in some small way; for a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Jesus, they will persecute you too.
• Take a moment to pray for the haters and doubters in your life:
  • Ask the Lord to shower them with His goodness, which leads men to repentance.
  • Pray that Holy Spirit will convict those doubters and haters of sin, righteousness, and judgment, so they will acknowledge their sin for what it is; see that there is no hope in their sin; see what Jesus looks like; and turn to Christ in all things.
  • Ask the Lord to convict them, and to help them walk in the Spirit, so they will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.
• Ask the Father to help you rise above the persecution and stand fast in your faith.
• Pray that He would bring your God-sized dreams to fruition all by Himself as you obey Him, so that you can show the world what is His good and acceptable and perfect will for your life.
• Pray that God would get all the glory, and that there would be a lot of glory to get.
• Ask Him to exalt the name of Jesus in your life throughout the process, so that people can see the goodness of His Son.
• Give Him all the praise!

Beloved, people will persecute you for your faith.

It’s not a “maybe”; it’s a definite. It will happen. However, God is greater than their persecution. He is faithful, even if others are not. And He will honor your faith, together with your obedience, to bring your dream into fruition.

And He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

Does this message about dealing with haters and doubters speak to your heart today? If so, leave a comment below!