The Blessing of Opposition

I am sure many of you are aware of the fiasco I had on Monday with my blogs! For those of you who haven’t heard, The Beauty in His Grip and the adjoining prayer blog were both missing in action for several hours. They had been hacked and then deleted by “someone” who must not have liked what I was writing. I must say, though, that the experience has been a great lesson in faith building for me. I am currently doing a Bible study on faith and so it came as no surprise that I would get some firsthand experience with the subject!

As you know, on Mondays, my blog is a place where fellow Christian bloggers come to link-up for Sharing His Beauty. I was excited to see who had linked their blogs to mine and was looking forward to reading the blessings from God they were going to share. So, I went to my computer and opened up my site. Right after I read the first of the connected posts I was not able to access my own blog! At first I thought I had clicked the wrong button. But then, to my surprise, I got the message that my blog had been deleted. Seconds later, the prayer blog also disappeared! I was momentarily panicked. But then, when I collected myself, I remembered what to do…and I prayed!

“I will call to you whenever I'm in trouble, and you will answer me” (Psalm 86:7).

After my initial prayer on Monday, I let all I could think of know about the situation, so they would also join me in prayer. The first of many blessings that day came in the form of encouraging and supportive e-mails and posts. Many of you prayed for me and sent me scripture verses that helped strengthen me and keep my eyes on the Lord. I was overwhelmed by the outreach from the blogging community and am truly thankful for each one of you! We are in a battle of unseen forces. When we face those who strive to weaken our resolve or cast a shadow over God’s message of Truth, we should not back down! Instead, we need to make sure that we have put on the best weapon…the full Armor of God!Of the several different elements of God’s armor, two in particular stood out clearly to me on Monday. As I prayed, I held up the shield of faith and drew the sword of the Spirit!

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish
all the flaming arrows of the evil one…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16, 18).

I knew God had the situation under control and I asked Him to lead me to the right solution, which of course, He did. Google was able to reinstate my blogs and after all passwords were changed, they are up and running again. I do think whomever deleted the blog was hoping I might become afraid and quit hosting a Christian site. However, with God’s strength and courage, the exact opposite reaction has occurred within me. I am now more determined than I ever was to share His message and tell of the blessing God is in my life.

"...Yet our God gave us the courage to declare His Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition" (1 Thessalonians 2:2).

And yes, I have also prayed for this individual. It is obvious to me that anyone who is so resolute to try to counteract the message in Christian devotionals that they hack into them, is certainly in need of Jesus!

“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

This whole experience brought me back to a time, several years ago, when my son was a young teen and newly on fire for the Lord, he came home from school one day with a surprising comment. He greeted me with a smile and said, “Guess what, Mom? I was blessed today!” When I asked him how, he responded by telling me that he had been persecuted for his faith. I smiled at the depth of his understanding, but secretly hoped the same didn’t happen to me! I was wrong, of course. God’s word says that we can expect opposition when we share His message, but then through that opposition we will be blessed.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12).

Yes, I was blessed on Monday! First by the outpouring of love and support from all of you, and then by the comfort, strength and courage God gave me. But by far, the greatest blessing I received was how God grew my faith. I am stronger today than I was three days ago. I know that not everyone will accept the message of Christ. However, our God is stronger and bigger than anyone or anything that may try to come up against His Word. I am full of joy today, and my joy is in the Lord!

Living for Him,