When Resistance Doesn’t Make Sense | Steven Furtick
Finding Faith When Resistance Doesn’t Make Sense
There are moments in every Christian’s journey when life pushes back in unexpected ways. These seasons can leave us questioning God’s presence or purpose, especially when we feel we’re following His direction and still face strong opposition. But what if those very headwinds, those moments of resistance, are actually guiding us to a deeper understanding of God’s power, love, and closeness?
When God’s Leading Meets Resistance
It’s easy to believe that if we’re doing what God desires, everything should fall into place. This is a notion many Christians embrace—hand your life over to God, and He’ll take away your burdens. But what happens when you trust, obey, and still face hardships? The idea that God’s path is always the smoothest is comforting, but the Bible paints a different, richer picture.
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells His disciples to go ahead of Him by boat to the city of Bethsaida. They listened and obeyed, only to find the wind and waves fighting against them all night long. We might expect God’s blessing to come as an absence of trouble, but sometimes the confirmation that we’re walking in His will is that opposition increases. It sounds backward, but it’s true.
Maybe you’ve had similar experiences—a promotion you prayed for goes to someone else, or doors seem to shut instead of opening, even as you seek God faithfully. We often assume resistance is a sign that something’s gone wrong, but scripture shows us otherwise.
Resistance Is the Gateway to Revelation
There’s a key truth to hold onto: resistance leads to revelation. When we face circumstances that seem contrary to God’s promises, we can discover new depths of His faithfulness. The storm the disciples faced wasn’t a result of disobedience, but the result of Jesus’ direct command. He sent them into the storm, and while they struggled, He watched over them.
Just as Jonah encountered resistance for going his own way, the disciples experienced opposition for going God’s way. Yet both were opportunities for God to reveal Himself in powerful ways. Sometimes, God allows the winds to push against us, not to punish us, but to demonstrate that it’s His presence that pulls us through—not luck, not timing, not our own skills, but Him alone.
God Sees You in the Storm
There’s something profoundly comforting in knowing that while we strive and strain, Jesus sees us. The Gospel says Jesus went up on a mountainside to pray and watched the disciples in the middle of their struggle. From His vantage point, He could see the whole storm. Imagine that: even when you feel alone, even when the wind is strongest and you can’t make out anything ahead, Jesus is watching, caring, and preparing to move.
Have you ever been there—fighting a battle no one else sees, crying tears nobody else knows about? Remember, Jesus sees the full scope of your storm and is never far away. If you feel like giving up and turning back because things are hard, consider this: if the journey was easy, you might credit your success to your own strength, or mere chance, and not to Jesus walking with you in the storm.
Jesus Steps Into Our Storms
The Bible recounts that as the disciples struggled, Jesus came down from the mountain and walked across the lake to meet them. What’s interesting is that He seemed as if He might walk right past. At first, they didn’t even recognize Him—they were frightened, thinking He was a ghost. That’s often how it is in our toughest moments: even when Jesus is drawing near, our fear or exhaustion can blind us to His presence.
But Jesus immediately reassures them: “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” God’s presence enters right into the storm, not after it’s over, but in the midst of it. When you cry out, He’s right there—coming toward you, ready to bring His peace.
Peter’s Leap of Faith—and the Lessons We Learn
Matthew’s gospel adds one key detail Mark leaves out. When Peter recognizes Jesus, he calls out: “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” And Jesus simply answers, “Come.” With startling courage, Peter climbs out of the boat and actually walks on the water toward Jesus. For a moment, he’s experiencing a miracle. Yet once he notices the wind, his faith wavers and he begins to sink, crying out for help. Jesus immediately reaches out and saves him.
What can we learn from Peter here? A lot of teaching centers on the boldness it takes to step out in faith. And that’s important. But there’s another side to faith—sometimes, the truest test is not the dramatic leap, but the quiet endurance of staying in the boat, rowing steady, and trusting God through the night when the storm won’t quit, and the shore is nowhere in sight.
When the Story Gets Personal
It’s natural to want to highlight our moments of triumph—our ‘walking on water’ achievements—and gloss over the failures or times we’ve doubted. When Peter tells this story years later to Mark, he leaves out the part about stepping out and sinking. Maybe he realized, over time, that what’s most significant isn’t his own momentary bravery or faltering faith, but what happened when Jesus stepped into the boat with them.
The storm didn’t stop because Peter made it to Jesus. The wind only died down when Jesus stepped into their boat. Our victories aren’t about how far we can walk on water. It’s about Jesus—His nearness, His power to bring peace, and His readiness to save and steady us no matter where we are or how we feel.
Blessings in the Middle of the Battle
As Christians, we want to share testimonies of miraculous breakthroughs, dramatic answers to prayer, and seasons where everything