Purpose Study Bible 338: When Enemies Resist Your Purpose

Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia. ... Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia (Ezra 4:4-5, 24).

When the people of God worked, their enemies rose up and opposed the work, successfully shutting down construction for a season. This followed a familiar pattern for almost everyone who stepped into God’s purpose in the Bible. Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, Esther, Jesus, and Paul, just to name a few, did not encounter the same level of resistance until they accepted and functioned in their purpose. Only then did family members, kings, friends, and religious leaders voice disapproval and take action to discourage or hinder God’s servants.

Jesus said, “Beware when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26). When we pursue our Kingdom assignment, someone is often going to feel threatened and become activated. That does not mean we should go out of our way to stir people up, but it does mean we should not back down simply because others are offended.

Opposition can often confirm that we are on the right track. It may indicate that we are doing something significant enough to be resisted. Our tendency, however, is to second-guess whether we made the right decision and should continue moving forward. Sometimes our greatest enemies are not outside of us but within us. Fear, doubt, confusion, insecurity, and perfectionism can shut us down as effectively as any external force.

What are you doing that seems to attract the strongest opposition? How are you reacting to it? While it is always wise to examine your motives and actions, it is also important to remember that God can use opposition to teach you to trust Him and to clarify what you are doing and why. Whether your opponents are merely annoying or truly formidable, it is time to take your place with God’s other purpose heroes and keep acting, remembering that you and God constitute a majority, no matter how many are voting against you.