Help in Opposition
Opening Prayer
Lord, may I know the strength of Your Spirit when I face challenges.
Read JOHN 15:26—16:4a
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
16 “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,
New International Version (NIV)
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Meditate
One particularly distasteful human flaw is ungratefulness. How often do you thank the God who allowed you to live in a free country?
Think Further
If you know about something before it happens, you can be prepared for it. So Jesus, being utterly realistic about what it costs to follow him, gives his disciples details about what is going to happen to them as they set out to serve him. Sometimes the nature of the opposition will be unexpected, but at other times it may be predictable. Either way, however, we certainly need help to withstand whatever difficulties we might face. At the time of writing, I have read of three Christian converts in one country facing 80 lashes each for drinking alcohol during a communion service, in seeming fulfillment of 16:2. We hear also of Christians being put to death simply for belonging to Christ and refusing to deny him. In some parts of the world, serving Jesus can cost someone dearly.
In the midst of such tests, what should we do? Today’s verses not only tell us not to be taken by surprise when opposition occurs, but they also provide us with hope and encouragement. Jesus tells us how the Spirit will aid us in testifying to our love for him (15:26) when our witness to Jesus is threatened. In fact, the Spirit’s witness precedes ours. We are also to testify (27), but we should recognize that when our witness is being dismissed or ridiculed, the Holy Spirit is already at work. Not only can he sustain us when we face challenges, but he can also work in the hearts of those opposing us—just as he did in the heart of Saul of Tarsus—and turn them to Christ. We may think that our witness is weak and ineffective, but the Spirit leads us and gives us what we need to testify to his grace.
Apply
Pray for those Christians who are being persecuted today and ask God to encourage them with the strength of his Spirit.
Closing prayer
Lord, thank You for the continual presence of Your Spirit, who makes up for all our shortfalls.
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