You may have noticed that I was slow getting to this post. I’ve been dealing with some opposition, and obviously it was having some success. It was a different face of opposition. It almost appeared to be on my side, to be looking out for my own good, and carried with it a certain amount of logic. Ultimately, the aim was to detract from my chosen course. As I stalled and delayed I was reminded of a vital and elementary precept of following Jesus: expect opposition.

In Chapter 8 of The Bridge from OneDayBow, Tim sets out on his chosen course. It isn’t a decision that he jumped into, and it followed a lot of searching for answers and wrestling with “what if” scenarios. Tim not only decided that he was going to meet the King, he also counted the cost of doing so in bobbles.

As Tim headed to the Bridge, the tempters, whose best lure had always been the illustrious bobbles, were now stationed to warn of great loss if he chose to leave them behind. And then there were the “friends” who didn’t have the desire to meet the King and certainly didn’t want Tim to go there either. Threatening voices of opposition attempted to stir up fear, while the friendly warnings questioned his sanity. And what did Tim do? He walked right past them!

Eventually the outside opposition faded, and you’d think that this battle was decided for Tim… but not so fast. Oddly, it was when he should have kept going that he hesitated. Why now? Why in the welcoming presence of the King’s Son? Where was the opposition coming from? Inside of Tim.

I want you to notice something: Even while Tim wrestled (again) with his decision, the Son had already made His decision. He had already acted on behalf of the King in building the Bridge, and He now stood ready to welcome Tim into the Kingdom! The Bridge was the proof of the King’s provision, and the Son was the evidence of His love.

So why didn’t He do something to remove the opposition? Could it be that the opposition served to validate Tim’s choice? Sounds funny, I know, but don’t the most important decisions – decisions that prove what you really believe and what you’re really made of – require a decisive choice? Freewill is only free if there is more than one choice. The question is not if we will face opposition to following in faith, but rather, what will we do in the battle: trust and follow, or turn and run?
It may have seemed to take a long time at the Bridge for Tim to decide, but I think it was about a second and a half! And what the Son then told Tim… is going to have to wait till next time.