When Other Believers Hope You Fail

One of the most painful experiences in following God is discovering that not everyone who loves God will understand what God has asked you to do.

Sometimes the strongest resistance doesn't come from the world.

Sometimes it comes from other believers.

And when that happens, it can create a difficult question in your heart:

“If these people know God, and they believe I'm wrong, maybe I really did miss Him.”

We should always be humble enough to ask that question. None of us are beyond correction. None of us hear perfectly. Scripture tells us to test everything and hold fast to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

But there is another truth we need to understand:

Someone else's desire to see you fail is not evidence that God is against you.

Kingdom People Should Want God's Will to Succeed

There is a difference between questioning whether something is from God and actually hoping it fails.

Discernment says:

“Lord, show us whether this is from You.”

Pride says:

“I hope this fails so I can be proven right.”

Those are very different attitudes.

If something is truly from God, then a surrendered heart should ultimately want it to succeed—even when God chooses someone else to accomplish it.

Even when we don't understand it.

Even when it challenges us.

Even when it doesn't look like the way we would have done it.

Our prayer should become:

“God, if this is You, let it bear fruit. Let people be reached. Let lives be changed. Let Jesus be glorified.”

John the Baptist demonstrated this kind of heart when attention began shifting from his ministry toward Jesus.

His disciples were concerned that people were going to Jesus instead.

John's response was remarkable:

“He must increase, but I must decrease.” — John 3:30

That's Kingdom thinking.

The goal isn't for my ministry to win.

The goal is for Jesus to win.

Christians Can Still Respond From the Flesh

We also need to be careful here.

If another believer becomes jealous, competitive, or even hopes we fail, that doesn't automatically mean they aren't Christians.

Believers can still respond from unsurrendered places.

Paul told the Corinthian church:

“For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?” — 1 Corinthians 3:3

Notice that Paul was speaking to believers.

The problem wasn't necessarily that they didn't know God.

The problem was that something in them was still operating from the flesh.

Paul encountered something similar while imprisoned. He said some people were preaching Christ from envy, strife, and selfish ambition (Philippians 1:15–17).

Imagine that.

They were preaching Jesus, but their motives weren't completely surrendered to Jesus.

That should humble every one of us.

We can be doing something that looks spiritual while still allowing insecurity, jealousy,

competition, pride, or ambition to influence our hearts.

Sometimes Someone Else's Obedience Challenges Us

There are moments when watching God use someone else forces us to confront something within ourselves.

Their courage may expose our fear.

Their obedience may expose our hesitation.

Their surrender may reveal something we're still holding onto.

Their willingness to step forward may challenge the place where we've become comfortable.

And their success may force us to reconsider something we were certain about.

That doesn't mean their purpose is to embarrass us.

God may be using their obedience to invite us into deeper surrender too.

This is why we should be extremely careful about hoping another believer fails.

What if we're praying against something God is actually building?

What if we're asking God to stop the very thing He's using to reach someone?

What if our need to be proven right becomes greater than our desire for God's Kingdom to advance?

At that point, the issue is no longer about the other person.

God may be revealing something in us.

Religious Opposition Doesn't Automatically Mean God Is Against You

Jesus gives us the clearest example.

Some of the strongest opposition Jesus encountered came from deeply religious people.

They knew Scripture.

They prayed.

They attended worship.

They believed they were defending God.

Yet some eventually wanted Jesus silenced and killed.

Jesus warned His disciples that something similar could happen to them:

“The time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.” — John 16:2

That's a sobering statement.

Someone can sincerely believe they are defending God while actually resisting something God is doing.

That should produce humility on both sides.

If you're being opposed, don't immediately assume, “I'm right because they're against me.”

But don't assume, “I must be wrong because Christians are against me,” either.

People are not the final measurement.

God is.

Test Yourself Before You Defend Yourself

When opposition comes, our first response shouldn't be:

“They're jealous.”

It should be:

“Lord, search me.”

David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart… And see if there is any wicked way in me.” — Psalm 139:23–24

That's the posture we need.

Ask yourself:

Is what I'm doing consistent with Scripture?

Does it glorify Jesus or glorify me?

Is there godly fruit?

Am I willing to be corrected?

Have mature believers raised legitimate biblical concerns that I need to consider?

Am I defending God's direction—or simply defending my pride?

Those questions matter.

Because sometimes opposition is correction, and we need enough humility to receive it.

But after you've honestly examined yourself, tested what you're doing against Scripture, prayed, sought wisdom, and remained open to correction, there comes a point when obedience requires courage.

Don't Let Their Bitterness Create Bitterness in You

This may be the hardest part.

If someone wants you to fail, don't start wanting them to fail.

Otherwise, the very thing you recognized in them begins growing inside you.

Jesus taught:

“Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” — Matthew 5:44

Our response to opposition reveals just as much about our hearts as their opposition reveals about theirs.

You don't need to destroy someone to obey God.

You don't need to embarrass them.

You don't need to prove that you heard God and they didn't.

And you certainly don't need their failure to validate your calling.

Just obey.

Let the fruit speak.

Let God defend what God initiated.

And pray that everyone involved becomes more surrendered to Christ through the process.

Maybe God Cares About Them Too

There is another possibility we often overlook.

Maybe what God is doing through you isn't only about the people you're trying to reach.

Maybe God also loves the people resisting you.

Perhaps your obedience will eventually cause someone to stop and reconsider something in their own walk with God.

Not because you're better than them.

Not because you're more spiritual.

But because God loves them enough to challenge them too.

God's correction isn't rejection.

His conviction is an invitation to come closer.

So instead of praying:

“God, prove them wrong.”

Perhaps our prayer should be:

“God, reveal Yourself to all of us.”

Correct them where they're wrong.

Correct me where I'm wrong.

Remove jealousy.

Remove pride.

Remove selfish ambition.

Remove fear.

And when everything else is stripped away, let Your will remain.

Keep Walking

If God has called you to speak, speak.

If God has called you to stand, stand.

If God has called you to serve, serve.

If God has called you to build, build.

Not arrogantly.

Not rebelliously.

Not with an attitude that says, “Nobody can tell me anything because God told me.”

Walk humbly.

Remain teachable.

Stay grounded in Scripture.

Test the fruit.

Listen to wise counsel.

Love the people who misunderstand you.

Pray for those who oppose you.

And then keep walking in what God has genuinely asked you to do.

Because sometimes obedience will be celebrated.

Sometimes obedience will be misunderstood.

And sometimes even people who love God will struggle with what God is doing through someone else.

But their struggle doesn't have to become yours.

You don't need them to fail.

You don't need to prove them wrong.

You simply need to remain faithful.

And when another believer steps out in obedience, may our hearts be surrendered enough to pray:

“Lord, if this is You, bless it. Let it bear fruit. Let Jesus be glorified—even if You chose to do it through someone other than me.”

That is not weakness.

That is humility.

That is surrender.

And that is what the Kingdom should look like.

Pastor Scott