When You Face Opposition

Moses knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But I think he was a little shocked by how unresponsive Pharaoh was. Despite the many miracles that God did through Moses, Pharaoh’s heart became hard.

So what did Moses do? Disappointed and disillusioned, he called on the Lord. He said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all” (Exodus 5:22–23 NKJV).

That’s a pretty honest prayer. And by the way, there’s nothing wrong with complaining or lamenting in your prayers, as long you’re crying out to God and not against Him. It’s okay to say, “Lord, I don’t get this. I don’t know why You’ve allowed this to happen to me.” That’s exactly what Moses did.

Moses discovered for himself that being in the will of God doesn’t mean you’ll be free from opposition.

Sometimes we think that once we commit our lives to Christ and choose to follow Him that we’ll have green lights and smooth sailing. Instead, we find ourselves facing opposition. We experience pushback from unexpected places. It may be from our families, our friends, and certainly from nonbelievers.

That’s called spiritual warfare. It’s been said that conversion has made our hearts a battlefield. The moment you become a Christian, you enter into a spiritual battle. Either you will choose to fight and win, or you will choose not to fight and ultimately lose. Either you will gain ground in this battle, or you will lose ground. There are no other options.

So when you face opposition, it doesn’t mean you’re doing the wrong thing. It probably means you’re doing the right thing.

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