STUDY 6: DEALING WITH OPPOSITIONS

 

Every day of our lives, as we live on the earth, we will live answering this one question -WHO ARE YOU?

Circumstances will ask you; people will ask you; your environment will definitely ask you, and as you desire to make progress and gain victory in life, you will definitely have to answer the question – Who are you? Well, some of us already have our answers, but I tell you, if your answer is your name, like saying, “who are you?” and your response is “I am Esther Archibong” for instance, you would have to know that they are many other people bearing your name, and in fact, your first name and surname, and even if nobody else bears your full name, do really think your full name eventually describes you?

So, who is this Esther Archibong? That becomes the question, if your name is Francis Junior, who is this Francis Junior?  In the discovery, refining and deploying of who Francis Junior is, will you be able to stand and confront opposing forces and challenges that would want to hinder you from living to your fullest?

On earth, even when no other person knew, Jesus knew He was the Christ, the man that would save the entire world from sin and bring salvation to anyone who received. Some thought he was just another prophet, some said he was Elijah, others said he was Jeremiah, yet he truly knew without an iota of doubt that He is Christ.

Perspectives matter a lot, they affect responses, attitude and our value of a person or thing.

For instance, if I have a beautiful gold wrist watch, my attitude towards that wrist watch is well something you guess, number 1, you would know that I will likely treasure that wristwatch and 2, you also know that I will not allow another to treat it without care, you know that as much I value the gold wrist watch, I will also love other people to  treat it same and at least not rough handle it.

It’s the same thing with us; the understanding of ourselves, identity and significance informs  the way we treat ourselves and the way we allow other people treat us and in the case where people want to insist on  treating us less, we can oppose them and uphold our truest self.

I really don’t know behind the scene of everything that happened in Psalm 24:7-10, yet there is this question that confronted the ‘King of Glory’ and the question is ‘Who is this King of Glory?’ 

Now, I’m not even too sure about who asked the question, yet, the question demanded proofs, like saying “What makes you the King of Glory?” I will like you to read through Psalm 24: 7-10. You will find something very interesting; the response was affirmative “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle”, “The Lord of Host, He is the King of Glory.”

Wow! The Lord of Host, a precise acclamation of our God, and times would come when we would need to defend who we are, where we will need to stand upon our true revealed nature or be bent away by circumstances. I heard someone say that the Lion would never eat grass no matter the famine in the Jungle, it’s not arrogance, it is identity.

There are things, circumstances, events that would happen as we go through life, they are people that would want to abuse us, they oppositions that would come to see what stuff we are made of,

And that is why it is important that we get to know our revealed self, (getting to know who we are as revealed to us by God) then we can boldly say “I am Esther Archibong a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, a  king and a priest, separated unto God, A light of the world, a salt of the earth, a  conqueror, the saved of God, the beloved of God, the chosen, the favoured, the one who is constantly in  the mind of God, the one whom Jesus constantly mediates for, the blessed of the Lord, the favourite of God’s creation” and this can be anyone, it can be you but remember you have to first get this right by finding yourself in God, then you  hold your head up high and boldly affirm your identity and insist everyday in your daily life to live and function as you have been created.

You see, knowing who you are, and insisting upon that record, helps you never to be at the mercies of people’s philosophies and perspectives, that people don’t think you  don't worth anything good would not mean anything to you, you simply live being who you are and enjoying your benefits regardless of what they think. You would say like the King of Glory said, “Lift up your heads oh yea gate and be ye lifted up yea everlasting doors let the King of Glory  come in” this is called the realm of dominion and Authority, the world is at your comand and in humility and submission to God you execute orders and live victorious in the face of circumstances.

Friends, this is the life we are called to live, we are not called to live beggarly, not desperately in need, but in all sufficiency, wealth and abundance, in all authority and dominion. 

This is once again, who we are and we need to enforce it.