DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: NOVEMBER 6 SUPPRESSING OPPOSITIONS (1) SCRIPTURE: NEHEMIAH 2: 19; PROVERBS 24: 10
In passages of life, human beings often come close, to three words which are believed to be responsible for limitations or retrogressions in achieving one’s plans. These words are enemy, opposition and adversary. Any of these words comes confronting any achiever in form of fellow humans, circumstances and government in power. Attempting to classify these words proves a little difficult, as their synonymous meanings are too similar. We are told in brief that an enemy is a person or nation who hates, opposes or fosters harmful designs against another. Opposition is act of resisting, the condition of being in conflict or antagonism with someone. An adversary is an opponent, an enemy or group that is hostile to someone. While we try to become somebody or planning for something to be done, we often come face to face with one who becomes hostile and trying to stop us in anywhere.
There has never been any man, trying to come up successfully, who never faces oppositions. Any successful man or woman who became a celebrity has stories of opponents, adversaries and enemies. Every achiever suppressed opposing personalities, situations, adversaries and circumstances. As Christians, we must know that the world is a battle field where we are faced with many opposing forces from human beings to satanic agents. Becoming a child of God exposes us to hates, antagonisms, hostilities etc., of the world. But we are not to quit because of the oppositions. The Bible has said that if one faints in the presence of adversaries, it means such person’s faith or strength is little (Prov. 24: 10). There is nothing we do that someone will not oppose. Every degree of opposition demands for greater size of faith to suppress it.
Opposition takes many forms, which mostly begins with ridicule, but thereafter, developed to drastic measures when ridicule fails. Have you ever experienced being ridiculed by friends, telling you that you are off your mind, when they are told of your great plans of what to do? Have you never met harsh criticism by family members while you are all out to achieve fame? Can you see how you passed through opposition while trying to get married? The beloved in the Lord, where there is no opposition, there will be no greatness. The fear of opposition is the beginning of failure and degradation in life. Oppositions are to be suppressed and not to be feared. Till you suppress your adversary, you have never got any faith. There are many people in the Bible who suppressed oppositions and created greatness for themselves. This devotional chooses to use Nehemiah as a case study (see tomorrow’s devotional). Even when his enemies knew he had God’s back up, they still oppressed him (Neh. 2: 19). We will see how he suppressed his distractors acting standing as oppositions in the next series.
PRAYER:
JEHOVAH MY FATHER, grant me foresights on how to suppress all who are opposing my designs for achieving fame in Jesus name.
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