“There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.”
1 Corinthians 16:9 (NLT)
Paul’s words in this verse hit me today. He says there’s a wide-open door for a great work—even though many oppose him. Acts 19 shows what he’s talking about: the gospel was advancing, but resistance was fierce. Sometimes we think opposition means a door is closed. We pray for God to open doors, but when He does, we hesitate because of the pushback. It can feel like someone has stretched clear tape across the doorway—visible opportunity, but resistance every time we try to step through.
Paul follows up in verses 13–14, urging us to be on guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong, and do everything with love. That’s because sharing the gospel and fulfilling God’s call isn’t easy. Like we learned in 1 Corinthians 15:10, we can only accomplish God’s plans by His grace.
Wherever there’s great opportunity, there will be great opposition. But we have the Holy Spirit. We have God’s grace. We have His Word. And we have the body of Christ to encourage, pray for, and strengthen us. If we face no opposition, we may not be pushing into the territory God is calling us to take.
As we press forward in kingdom work, the enemy will try to oppose us—through lies, attacks, or obstacles—but he’s already defeated. Victory is ours in Christ. So we walk through the door of opportunity with courage, knowing that with God on our side, the great work will be done. Praise the Lord, we win in the end.