12月20日
標 題：反對
經 節：他們去後，有主的使者向約瑟夢中顯現，說：「起來！帶著小孩子同他母親逃往埃及，住在那裡，等我吩咐你：因為希律必尋找小孩子，要除滅他。」（馬大福音二章13節）
當神清楚告訴我們要做什麼，而我們順服去做的時候，你會遇見反對勢力。遭受不敬虔者的屬靈攻擊及羞辱，並不總是你偏離神旨意的標識；它們甚至指明你正走在神的旨意當中。馬利亞的丈夫約瑟是個敬畏神的義人，然而，他的順服迫使他離鄉背井、亡命天涯。約瑟遇見苦難不是因為他的罪，乃是因為他的順服。雖然約瑟和馬利亞被迫搬遷到另一個國家，他們仍行在神的旨意中。
耶穌警告門徒，當他們遵行神旨意的時候，世人會迫害他們。祂提醒他們，他們不會單獨面對苦難，因為耶穌也曾經面對世界的苦難，並且祂已經得到勝利（約翰福音十六：33）。
當你面對反對勢力時，不要灰心喪膽。敵對的勢力顯示出你是順服神的。不要讓敵對的勢力使你懷疑神的旨意。檢查你的心。如果你已經做了神要你去行的事，祂會帶你超越那不與神同行者所敵對的阻撓力量。當使徒遭遇敵對力量時，他們沒有要求神除去敵人，而是求神賜給他們勇氣面對敵對勢力（使徒行傳四：24—31）。神在你身上的旨意可能包括苦難，就像神的愛子一樣（約翰福音十五：20），然而，祂愛你，祂不會讓你所面對的苦難多於你所能處理的。
Opposition!
An
angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the
young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you
word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” (Matthew 2:13)
Whenever
God clearly speaks to you and you obey His will, you can expect to face
opposition. Spiritual assaults and attacks by the ungodly are not always signs
that you are out of the will of God; they may even indicate that you are in the
very center of God’s will. Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a righteous man who feared
God, yet his obedience to God forced him to flee for his life to a foreign
country. Joseph’s hardship came, not because of his sin, but because of his
obedience. Although Joseph and Mary were forced to move to another country,
they remained in the center of God’s will.
Jesus
warned His disciples to expect persecution from the world as they obeyed the
Father. He reminded them that they would not face persecution alone, for Jesus,
too, had faced the hostility of the world and had been victorious (John 16:33).
Don’t
become discouraged when you face opposition. Opposition may indicate that you
are acting in obedience to God. Do not let opposition cause you to doubt God’s
will. Examine your heart. If you have done what you know He has asked you to
do, trust Him to see you through the antagonism that comes from those who are
not walking with Him. When they encountered persecution, the disciples did not
ask God to remove their opponents, but to give them boldness as they faced
opposition (Acts 4:24–31). God’s will for you may involve hardship, as it did
for His Son (John 15:20), but He loves you and will not allow you to face more
than you are able to handle.
