9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
What a contrast to the thinking of our contemporary society. When we see opposition, we have the tendency to run the other direction. Paul saw the opposition as a confirmation of the mission in which he was engaged. When the Gospel is advancing, there is going to be opposition. Let’s not confuse opposition to the Gospel with opposition to our arrogance or bull-headedness. Many times I have heard pastors couch their battle with the city planning commission as a battle against Satan. (Remember Romans 16! God has set the governing authorities.) Or even worse, the battle is with the board members and the same attribution is made. The often quoted verse should come to mind, that our battle is not against flesh and blood. Sometimes the city council is being used by Satan, but if we are ever going to win them to Jesus, we must treat them as Jesus would. His kindness and compassion should be evident in our dealings and in our public and private depictions of the conflict. We can disagree with their decision, take them to the arena of the courtroom and effectively advance our view, but we must never in the process not be Jesus-like in our conduct. David did not assume Saul was the enemy. He could have killed him on several occasions, but choose to let God work things out instead. We must remain consistent in character no matter what the circumstance. We must pray. Oh, I forgot that! Our main battle ground is against our own selfish desires and not some external battle that causes us to lose focus on eternity. Paul saw the opposition as a confirmation of the direction of his ministry. God wants to use the opposition to get us to the position He has wanted us to assume all along. He wants us on our knees, totally dependent on His strength to accomplish His mission!
The Arnold Journey 