John 16:33 – “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Like failure, opposition is part of life. Sadly, sometimes opposition comes via the people from whom you’d least expect it. It’s not someone out on the edges of your life, but it could be your own brother or sister or a friend who is threatened by what God is doing in your life. When you come up against opposition, refuse to be ruled by someone in a negative way.

If I find myself preaching and suddenly all I can think about is ‘that guy’ and what he said and did and how unfair it is and I start preaching ‘at them’, then that person is far too important in my world.

Who is affecting your spirit and taking far too much of your focus in a negative way? No mature Christian who is seasoned in the Word has any reasonable excuse to live their life offended. Jesus told us that offenses would come. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble;” but he also said, “I have overcome the world.” So if Jesus has given us his overcoming victory, we have no real excuse to live our lives offended or as the victim of someone else’s opposition or pain.

PRAYER: Jesus, teach us to live without offense.  Fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we will be more confident in you and in your ability to overcome darkness with light. Let us live more and more in the reality of your overcoming today so that we will overcome evil with your goodness.
(Taken with edits from Brian Houston’s devotional, Right Spirit and Opposition.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEtB564vots

-AP