As a child of God, a follower of Jesus Christ you will sooner or later be opposed and criticized. You may be opposed by family, friends, co-workers or those even within your own church. Have you ever considered what truths may be intertwined in the words of those who oppose you?

Nehemiah found himself in an escalation of opposition in Nehemiah 4, as he steadfastly continued to pour himself out in obeying God’s call on his life. Nehemiah could have lashed back in verbal intimidations and physical coercion and even more colorful lies but he did not take the bait. Instead, he quietly considered any truths in the comments of Sanballat and Tobiah (Neh. 4:2-3). So he set a guard night and day to protect themselves (4:9). He made sure the people of God were armed with swords, spears and bows (4:13). He declared that God will do the fighting so do not fear (4:14, 20). He prayed and without hesitation moved forward in the work God had called him to finish. Nehemiah considered the truths of the enemy's words and used them to make him and the work of God more resilient.

Like Nehemiah, we need to view opposition and criticism as God’s appointed means for us to humble ourselves and embrace difficult truths that are many times only communicated to us through those who oppose us. Opposition
is
part
of
our
sanctification
process,
a
tool
that
God
uses
to
reveal
idols
and
accelerate
our growth
in
humility and effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. Count it all joy... (James 1:2-4).