Every work of God in the world, whether great or small, faces opposition. Opposition doesn’t prove that God isn’t behind something; it usually proves that he is! The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “… for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” Not “I thought a great door of ministry had been opened to me, but then it got hard, so I concluded God wasn’t behind it.” No: Paul knew that God’s work happened through opposition, not around it.
If you are going to make it in the Christian life, you are going to have to learn to press through opposition.
In Nehemiah, there are only two verses devoted to cultivating passion and vision in ministry, five devoted to planning, and 10 devoted to prayer, but there are four whole chapters devoted to persistence in the face of opposition. That in itself is extremely instructive for us. We spend most of our time in planning and passion, but it seems that the most important skill to master is persistence in the face of opposition.
A lot of things in life work like that, don’t they?
Regardless of what you think of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s social policies, historians agree it was his unwavering and steely resolve that guided us successfully through WWII. A reporter asked him how he could be so tireless in his efforts. He referenced his bouts with polio and said, “You’re looking at a man who spent two years trying to learn to wiggle his big toe.” In other words, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned how to do, it’s not give up.”
Louis Pasteur, the scientist, whose discoveries in germ theory introduced one of the most meaningful scientific shifts in human history, was once asked about the source of his greatness. His reply? “My genius lies solely in my tenacity.”
And then there’s Emmitt Smith, of the Dallas Cowboys, who was, IMHBAO, the greatest running back of all time. He retired more than 20 years ago, and he still holds the NFL record for career rushing yards—19,941 yards, to be exact. It’s a record that seems unlikely to ever be broken. For perspective, the next closest player, Walter Payton, had 2,583 fewer yards. He’s 1.6 miles behind Smith!
Here’s the thing: Emmitt Smith was not a huge guy. He was one of the smallest players in the NFL. And while he was rushing those almost 20K yards, he got knocked on his tail every 4.2 yards. What made Emmitt Smith great was that he kept getting up and pressing forward.
In fact, football announcer John Madden famously talked about a running back’s “YAC,” which is an acronym he coined that stands for “yards after contact.” A player’s YAC indicates the number of yards a running back can keep going after he’s been hit. Emmitt Smith had one of the highest YACs in football history. Commentators said he could somehow consistently turn two-yard losses into three-yard gains.
Your success in the Christian life is based on your YAC—what you do after contact.
Let’s be honest here for a moment: Some of you have started down a path toward something you thought God was leading you to, but then you hit opposition. You started to try to follow Jesus but your spouse has really gotten difficult. They’re giving you a hard time, or maybe an old temptation resurfaced.
You decided to come to church for the first time in a long time, but your family argued literally the whole way there, and you wondered, “Is this a sign that this is just not for us right now?”
You made a decision to get out of debt and start tithing, but then your car broke down. People keep telling you these amazing stories about how God provided after they decided to tithe, and you’re like, “Um, it feels like I’m going the opposite way.”
You started volunteering to serve with the children at church, but then one of them puked all over you.
Your small group was starting to grow, but then three huge conflicts popped up, and now it’s hard again. You just want to fade back into the background.
So how do we increase our YAC? Nehemiah gives us three ways to persist in the face of opposition—remember, redirect, rearm.
1. Remember
First, Nehemiah tells us to remember, saying in 4:14, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome...” This is the primary thing. Remember who called you; remember whose work you’re doing; remember what he’s done in the past and what he’s promised for the future.
2. Redirect
Nehemiah says that when we’re threatened, we should pray: “Hear, oh our God, for we are despised. Turn back their insults on their own heads” (Nehemiah 4:4). Where is the first place you take your troubles? Are you the kind of person who just quits and gives up? Are you the kind of person who starts complaining and blaming everyone else for why you’re not succeeding? Or are you the kind of person who just takes failure in stride and assumes that if you just work harder you’ll prevail?
All of those responses are wrong! Nehemiah’s instinct is to redirect things to God in prayer. He would eventually do a lot of work, but his first step was to pray.
3. Rearm
Finally, in response to all the rumors spread about him, Nehemiah says in 6:8, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” There’s a time to ignore the haters (and honestly, it’s most of the time), but there’s also a time to give clarity. If the people you’re leading, for instance, aren’t sure what’s true, you help them out by bringing clarity into a situation of chaos. Nehemiah knew this, which is why he paused his work long enough to say, “These are lies,” demonstrating why the accusations against him weren’t true. Don’t be too quick to answer every attack, but use the wise counselors in your life to assess: Is this a time to simply continue with the work, or is it a time to defend your convictions and your positions against accusations?
Nehemiah encourages us to not give up! Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. When we face opposition, Nehemiah tells us to “Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
Yes, we’re doing all this for Jesus, but we’re also doing all this for people we love, people we want to see come to Jesus.. It’s not an exaggeration to say that someone’s life, someone’s literal eternity, hinges on whether you are faithful now.
So to the one who’s just started to come back to church, don’t give up. I know it’s hard, and I know there are so many obstacles, but press on. It’s worth it. To those of you who are pursuing that ministry dream, don’t give up. Press on. The lives of lots of people you are going to bless through that ministry are worth it.
Photo credit: ©SWNdesign/J.D.Greear
Pastor J.D. completed his Ph.D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A, serves as a Council member for The Gospel Coalition, and recently served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor J.D. and his wife Veronica are raising four awesome kids.
"Editor's Note: Pastor JD Greear's "Ask the Pastor" column regularly appears at Christianity.com, providing biblical, relatable, and reliable answers to your everyday questions about faith and life. Email him your questions at [email protected]."
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