Stand Firm in the Face of Opposition!

Opposition! If you are like me, whenever you get a bit of tension or resistance, your go-to response might be to think that God isn’t in your plans. But in today’s passage, we see opposition to God’s plan for Nehemiah, immediately after he had received a breakthrough. This teaches us that immediate resistance does not mean that God isn’t in our plans. Instead, it might actually indicate that he is at the centre of what we are trying to do.

This isn’t the only time we see this in Scripture. Remember when Christ told the disciples that he was going to die? Peter’s immediate response was to oppose him!

Matthew 16:21-22 - From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” (NLT)

In response to the opposition, both Jesus and Nehemiah stood firm in what they knew the Lord had called them to do.

Matthew 16:24 - Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (NLT)

Nehemiah 2:20 - I replied, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.” (NLT)

This too should be our position! We ought to stand firm when we face opposition to what we believe the Lord is calling us to do.

Questions for reflection: Am I facing opposition? Have I stood firm? Have I prayed for wisdom and strength from the Holy Spirit to stand firm?