Scripture – “But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.”
1 Corinthians 16:8-9 NIV
Observation – Paul wanted to stay longer in Ephesus because a great door for effective work opened for him and many people there opposed him.
Application – Most people, when faced with opposition, run through the door and lock it behind them so they can avoid difficulty and conflict. They see opposition and trouble as a sign to flee, not fight. Often times when God opens a great door for effective work the first thing we see is disorder, chaos and one problem after another. Think about it from a common everyday occurrence. A young couple is looking for a home together. They scour the market and narrow down their options to two homes. The first home was abandoned, the roof leaks and the rafters are sagging but the couple loves the treed lot and the location close to the city. The second house is further out in the suburbs, it is only a fews years old and requires no work. The sidewalks in the neighborhood are still white with no cracks, there are no tall trees in the subdivision but they’ll look good in 20 years. There is no effective work to be done on the second house, all of the hope and promise lies with the first home, along with all of the risk, frustration and difficult work. No stories or adventures come with the second house but the first house will test the couple and provide them with a great door for effective work in their relationship. Most likely they will look back on the early days with that house with fondness and have great stories to tell their children and grandchildren. Ephesians 2:10 states that God has prepared good works in advance for us to do, many of us will miss these good works because they are, as the saying goes, dressed in work clothes.
Prayer – Dear Jesus, give us a new perspective, your perspective on opposition. Opportunity and opposition sound kind of the same. Amen.
What are you doing? Do it better 