Whenever we want to make progress or grow in our personal and spiritual life, or seek to serve God more enthusiastically, chances are we will face opposition and some flack.

On one occasion, I was facing an uncomfortable amount of flack because of a major change of direction I had made in my life, which I believed was right for me to do. But the flack I received came not from “the enemy without” but from opposition within. As the saying goes, “Christians are the only army that shoots its wounded.”

When I was feeling the strain, I was also feeling afraid. Then I pictured in my mind’s eye that I was a pilot flying through enemy territory with a lot of flack coming at me; but sitting beside me was my co-pilot, Jesus Christ! Immediately, I knew I would be safe and that he would guide me safely through the “storm”. And he did.

It helps to remember that no matter what we are going through, Christ’s presence and his Spirit are always with us. A part of the work of the Holy Spirit is that he is not only our Comforter but, as it says in the original language, he is one who is called alongside to help us in every situation in which we find ourselves.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, when I need to make choices, help me to know what the right choices are, and give me the courage to make them regardless of the flack/opposition I might receive … and help me always to ‘see’ Your being with me. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’s name, amen.”

1. John 14:15-17 (TLB).