Everyone's Against Me

Do you ever get that feeling that everyone's against you?  About a year in my church planting journey back in 1998 I encountered opposition to my vision.  Over a period of a couple of weeks it really began to wear on me.  I was stressed, overwhelmed and losing my leadership confidence. One day during a long drive I cried out to God, "Everyone is against me!"  Suddenly God spoke into my spirit, "Who is against you?"  "Oh, I'm glad you asked" I said, "Everyone, everyone is against me."  God gently asked, "Everyone?  Really?  Now, who is really against you?"  Again with the greatest spirit of self-pity I could muster I said, "Everyone, Bob is against me.  Sue is against me.  Ahhhh, Bob, Sue, ohh I already mentioned them didn't I.  Let's see, Bob, Sue and...I guess that's it."  All the sudden my opposition felt smaller and I gained a new perspective.That's the day I learned the importance of narrowing the scope of our problems.  Somedays we feel like "everything" is going wrong, "everyone" is against me.  But when we narrow the scope of our problem it gives us a new perspective.Are you feeling overwhelmed by opposition today?  Do you feel like it's all falling apart?  Stop for a moment and really define the true scope of the problem and I believe you'll find a new perspective.