“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33
We will face opposition whenever we do the right thing. Jesus Himself made this very clear when He said, “In the world you have tribulation.” Opposition will come in many forms: criticism from other people or difficult circumstances. The bottom line though is we have a spiritual enemy.
It is important to know the enemy’s tactics. Discouragement is one of his most powerful weapons. He also entices us to lose our self-control and tempts us to panic or fly off the handle. He wants to immobilize us to the point of paralysis whenever we refuse to make a move for fear of making a mistake. He leads us to the brink of spiritual defeat and poverty rendering us useless in the Kingdom of God.
But Jesus has told us to take heart because He has overcome the world! How should we therefore respond to opposition? Knowing the enemy’s tactics, we must prepare ourselves because opposition will undoubtedly happen. We must also pray and press on not only for the glory of God but also for our sake and that of the people around us. By the grace of God, we will be able to infuse new hope into the hearts of depressed, disheartened, and disillusioned people simply because we continued to press on.
Yes, it is true we will face opposition, but the battle is the Lord’s and Jesus is the Victor!
When the power of darkness comes in like a flood,
The battle belongs to the Lord.
He’ll raise up a standard, the power of His blood,
The battle belongs to the Lord.- Jamie Owens-Collins
*This Devotional was taken from Ricky Sarthou’s message delivered at CCF Ortigas last NOCtober 21, 2007
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