…a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. –I Corinthians 16:9

This statement has always intrigued me.  If Paul had said, “but there are many adversaries” I would not have been surprised.  Probably I would have passed it without a second thought (I do that all too often with the Bible).  It’s the word “and” that catches my attention.  It says to me that opportunity for ministry includes opposition.  It is assumed.  It is not the way I suspect I would have looked at it or perhaps most people.  It would sound more like this: “A wide door for effective work has opened to me, but it’s going to be tough because there is so much opposition.”  And that easily leads to a hesitancy and perhaps even a failure to pursue the opportunity before us.

            We need to remember to follow Jesus, to live as Christians in this world, is always swimming against the current, going against the grain.  So don’t be caught off guard when the going is tough.  But also remember we have Jesus, we have God’s power to overcome.  Paul was once struggling with a personal limitation, sought to be delivered from it but was told My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.

That’s good enough.

Filed under: The Journey | Tagged: Discipleship, Spiritual progress |