When Opposition Comes by John MacArthur

Monday, February 19 When Opposition Comes    Contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Acts 13:45    Corrie ten Boom came up with a powerful definition of anxiety. “Worry,” she said, “is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.” The old hymnist, John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace,” suggested an alternative to anxiety—faith. He wrote, “If the Lord be with us, we have no cause of fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer—His grace is sufficient, His promise unchangeable.”

Recommended Reading: Luke 12:4-7

Many Christians around the world are under the pressure of persecution, and even in the Western world, there is growing anti-Christian sentiment. We live in a world trying to intimidate us. Our blasphemous culture contradicts and opposes our message of Christian hope and love. When we suffer as a follower of Christ, it is not insignificant to us nor to God. He sees and understands and cares. He is with us, and we must always remember that His eye is on us, His arm over us, His ear is open to our prayer, His grace sufficient, and His promises unshakable and unchangeable. Our hope is in Him! He who has helped me hitherto, / Will help me all my journey through. John Newton