Love your Opponent?

 

I am a big New York Yankee fan. We have a "sworn enemy" in the Boston Red Sox. In all reality, they are not my enemy; they are my opponent. They are always the greatest barrier to us achieving our goals. When these two teams play, the intensity of the game greatly increases. Many times, both teams play better when they face each other. Your attitude about your opposition is so important! Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but I also think he would want us to love our opponents!

I have faced people in my life who placed barriers that prevented me from reaching my goals. Some of those people don't do it intentionally, but they do provide opposition and resistance. My attitude toward them is just as important as my attitude towards my enemies. Most of the time, when I look back, these opponents make me better than I ever would imagine.

Today, when I was reading Ezra 3-5, I found Israel was facing some pretty strong opposition. They had just come back from exile, and the local people were doing everything possible to keep them from rebuilding the Temple and their beloved Jerusalem. 

"Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work. They bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their plans. This went on during the entire reign of King Cyrus of Persia and lasted until King Darius of Persia took the throne." (Ezra 4:4,5)

Eventually, these opponents were successful, temporarily shutting down the reclamation project. In Chapter 5, we find the persistence of the former exiles paid off. They sent a letter to King Darius to explain the history of their rebuilding project. That history included the blessing of the former King of Persia, King Cyrus. Eventually, they overcame the obstacles and rebuilt the Temple.

We are inevitably going to face opposition to our plans. When we are following the will of Our Heavenly Father, we can be assured he will prevail. Our patience and our persistence will not be in vain. Maybe you are fighting an addiction or a sin, or maybe you are fighting a battle to achieve some personal goals. When we trust in the Lord and submit to him, he will support us and he will guide us to overcome all the obstacles that stand in the way. Trust him completely! Victory is yours!

One of my favorite verses:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (Proverbs 3:5,6)