I don’t know about you, but I don’t like opposition. I don’t like to be in disagreement with people around me. I am someone who loves peace and harmony.
Oh, I love a good debate. I love healthy conversations. But in the end, I want everyone to get along.
But God has been showing me something lately:
What if the opposition is the opportunity?
What if the roadblocks and obstructions in our way are actually the very things that will draw us deeper and deeper into relationship with God?
That’s a pretty radical way to look at things; but wow, what hope that can hold for us. It requires us to take a totally different approach to how we view our lives and the situations we are facing and the people we are dealing with.
Maybe the hard thing you’re facing right now has a life-changing lesson to teach you. If you can get past the anger, the frustration, the hurt, what is the nugget of truth you can discover? Is it possible God is using this exact situation to help you deal with a sinful habit or tear down a wall that has kept you stuck?
As much as we all want everything to go our way and for everyone to simply get along, that’s not reality. And it's irrefutable that we all learn and grow the most in our seasons of struggles.
But how do we mine for that gold when our nerves are on edge? How do we find the nuggets of truth when our hope is running on empty? How do we have a heart that’s willing to learn when we barely have the strength to simply get by?
I haven’t mastered this yet by any means, but God is definitely teaching me some tools to use. Instead of immediately going into panic mode, I’m learning to take a minute, breathe, and ask Him into the situation. I’m trying to view the situation from His eternal perspective, a perspective of perfect love, without all of my emotion getting in the middle of it.
I’m learning to ask hard questions, like is this opposition trying to teach me something about myself? Is there something inside of me that I need to let go of or something that God wants to heal? Is there a stronghold in my life that needs to be broken once and for all?
I'm discovering that most of the time my answers have come when I’m simply sitting at the feet of Jesus. Sitting and waiting….waiting for enlightenment. Waiting for the downloads that happen when my heart is ready to listen. Waiting for the peace God is always ready to offer me during the storm. Waiting for the nudges on the shoulder about behaviors and thoughts that don’t honor Him. Waiting for His perfect timing instead of demanding my own.
I think about sports and how easy it is to get cocky when you win every game with ease because you haven’t had to face any worthy opposition.
But what happens when you face that better team? All of a sudden you find out who you really are. You have to dig deep and play at a much higher level when you have a worthy opponent. You can’t simply coast through. But when you get that victory, it's also so much sweeter because you had to fight for it.
Life is a lot like that. There are seasons that require us to dig in and fight. And those are the times of growth.
The first step is to change our perspective on the opposition we are facing and try to discover the opportunities to grow, learn, and find a deeper connection with God. This situation might be exactly what we need to strengthen our faith and deepen our dependence on Him.
It’s not easy. It’s not our natural response. But let me encourage you, my friend. The opposition you are facing right now might be a beautiful opportunity!
Hugs and love,
Jill