Why Growth Often Comes With Opposition

There are seasons in life when suddenly everything seems to change at once. New opportunities appear. Doors begin to open. You sense an acceleration where there was once stagnation. It feels as though God is breathing on everything you put your hands to.

Then, unexpectedly, opposition comes. It may come through a person or a circumstance but suddenly you find yourself wondering what you've gotten yourself into. Something I've learned over the years is that when seasons of growth come the growing pains come with it. We find ourselves being stretched beyond what we feel we have capacity for.

We naturally assume that if we’re following God’s leading, everything should become easier. Yet throughout Scripture, we see something different. The Israelites entered the Promised Land, but they also encountered giants. The early church experienced incredible growth, but they also faced persecution. Paul walked in remarkable favor, yet he endured hardship, opposition, and what he described as a “thorn in the flesh.” Growth and opposition often exist side by side.

Growth Doesn’t Mean the Absence of Difficulty

When I accepted a new position after years in a job that had become increasingly discouraging, I knew almost immediately that I was walking into a new season. The opportunity opened unexpectedly. I could sense God's favor on this new season. The owner of the new company trusted me from the beginning, gave me freedom to make decisions, and created an environment where I could thrive.

But almost as quickly as the door opened, I encountered resistance. Someone I worked closely with had expected to receive the position I had been hired for. Without realizing it at first, I found myself navigating subtle opposition, withheld information, and situations that made it much harder to settle into my new role. Years earlier, I had handled a similar situation poorly by trying to solve the problem through control. This time, I approached it differently.

Instead of escalating conflict, I prayed for wisdom. I asked my boss if I could spend more time in the main office learning from other people within the company, and slowly I built the knowledge I needed. Eventually the situation resolved itself without the conflict I had feared but in the meantime it was quite uncomfortable. Looking back, I realize God wasn’t only growing my career. He was growing my character.

Opposition Reveals What God Is Growing

None of us enjoys difficult people or uncomfortable circumstances. Yet those very situations allow us to exercise what's been growing inside of us. Patience becomes visible when something tests our patience. Grace becomes real when someone is difficult to love. Humility deepens when success is accompanied by challenges that remind us of our dependence on God. The opposition wasn’t simply an obstacle. It became part of the resistance God used to strengthen me.

Depending on God in Every Season

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land it wasn't the end of difficulty. Unlike Egypt, where the Nile supplied consistent water, Israel depended on rain from heaven.

Deuteronomy 11:10-12 says:

"The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end."

Even in seasons of blessing, God’s people were meant to rely on Him. The same is true for us. Growing seasons aren’t seasons where we graduate from dependence on God. They’re seasons where our dependence simply takes a different form.

God Often Reveals Himself in New Ways

During that same season I was in this place of growth, something unexpected began happening. I noticed God speaking to me in ways I hadn’t experienced before. It wasn’t because I was looking for unusual experiences. But as I continued walking with Him, He began encouraging me through repeated reminders that He was present. Those moments became anchors during times when I felt stretched beyond my capacity. They reminded me that I wasn’t navigating the season alone so I didn't lose hope.

If You’re Feeling Stretched…

Maybe you’re in a season where new opportunities have arrived, but so have new challenges. Perhaps you’re battling self-doubt, feeling overwhelmed, or wondering why growth feels harder than you expected.

Take heart.

Growth is rarely comfortable. God isn’t simply preparing you for a new assignment. He’s preparing you to become the person who can faithfully carry it. You may feel as though you're being stretched beyond your capacity and it may feel as though you've bitten off more than you can chew. Trust that just as God opened this new door for you, he will give you the wisdom, grace, and strength to walk through it.

You can listen to the full conversation on this week’s episode of Navigating the Wilderness, where I share this story in greater detail and explore what Scripture teaches about growing seasons and the opposition that often accompanies them.