Opposition or Opportunity - Final

I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.
John 12:24 AMPC

*Man's Extremity Is God's Opportunity

Anyone who aspired to achieve anything great in this world to bring about monumental change and improvement faced enormous challenges and great opposition. Those who fought for the rights of children to receive schooling and not be in the workforce from the time they were very small faced opposition. Those who fought for racial equality faced continual opposition. Those who fought for the death of the slave trade fought the financial magnates of their day. Those who fought to make it possible for the common people to read the Bible faced opposition and persecution from the religious powers of their day. And on it goes.

Those who preach a message of salvation, faith, and truth will often stand in opposition to the world and its status quo.—Jesus, speaking in prophecy

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Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” And 1 Thessalonians 5:24 says, “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” There is wonderful liberation in these promises, because focusing on what God is doing through us takes the pressure off us and puts it on Him. Our job is to step out in faith, dependent upon God, and trusting Him to accomplish His purpose in whatever He called us to do.

That doesn’t mean everything will run smoothly. Wherever the work of God is being carried out we can expect opposition, not only on the mission fields, but in our homes and communities. There will always be pitfalls and hurdles, but when Christ is our strength, the difficulties will deepen our commitment, and we not only learn from them, but in them, experience the unlimited resources of Christ. We are never called to a task without the equipping and empowerment of Christ, and that’s where our confidence lies; not in what we are doing, but in what Christ is doing through us.—Charles Price

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Adversity is a severe instructor, set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as He loves us better, too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial.—Edmund Burke

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Difficulties are the admission tickets to the game of life. But, at times, we cannot help suspecting that life would be much more pleasant without the hassles. Is that what you think? Before answering, ponder the following.

In a world without hurdles, there are no champions; without suffering, there are no saints; without battles, there are no victories; without rain, no rainbows. Doesn’t it appear that a world that includes pain is more rewarding than one that doesn’t? Isn’t heat necessary to produce gold, pressure and polishing necessary to produce diamonds, and adversity necessary to produce character?

Here’s how Henry Ford expressed the same sentiment: “Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. We must learn that the setbacks … which we endure help us to march onward.”—Chuck Gallozzi






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