August 25

Job 16:1-19:29, 1 Corinthians 16:1-24, Psalm 40:1-10, Proverbs 22:1 

Pray: Father, help me to hang my hat on what You say and not cave in to what I feel. Help me to understand that You open doors but walking through the doors You open may not be easy.

Read: (I Cor. 16:9) There is a wide open door for a great work here, although many oppose me. The biggest opportunities are always coupled with the greatest opposition. Paul was at Ephesus and writing the Corinthian Church about his desire to spend extended time over the winter months with them. Paul was a seasoned soldier for Christ. He had learned that persecution and trials went hand in hand with taking spiritual ground.

Edify: I love the expression that proclaims loudly that “Winners never quit and quitters never win!” Opposition and resistance to what God is speaking for His church to do is to be expected. But far too many of us quit when the first winds of resistance start blowing. We say we “don’t want to offend” so we quit. We say the price is more than we thought “so we back off.” We say that “folks are suffering” so we stop. The children of Israel upon hearing the reports from the spies they sent into the promised land found themselves weighing the reports of giants in the land of walled cities to the reports of grapes the size of grapefruits. The opportunity was great but so was the opposition. Rather than say, God we are scared, they told God that their children would be killed so they couldn’t enter the land.

The children of Israel had been eyewitnesses of the greatest deliverance of a people in human history yet resistance caused them to shake in their boots. So, all those over 20 died in the wilderness while 40 years later their children took the land. And yes, there was resistance. Resistance and opposition increase our faith and strengthen our resolve.

Practice: The Word declares that if we are to reign with Him we must first suffer with Him. Just as a great athlete must train and get in shape, so must we face trials and adversity to grow in faith. Practice thanksgiving rather than complaining when life hurts. You will find yourself stronger than you ever thought possible.