I was wrestling through 1 Corinthians 16 this morning. This verse really jumped out at me: “for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” (v.9)

It’s been said that opportunity arises out of adversity. Yet we can also see here that opportunity breeds more adversity. When we ask God to give us a wider door of influence or greater expanse of impact, we should expect greater adversity to accompany it. I believe this is why success scares a large number of people. They understand that greater opportunities birth greater responsibilities, and great responsibilities open way for harsher adversity.

Most folks don’t want more adversity. But then again, who should.

Yet in verse thirteen, Paul admonishes us to “man up” in adversity. He says, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” When God widens your sphere of influence, much adversity will come with it. Accept this truth, pull up your bootstraps and get after it, is Paul’s resolve.

Here are some great quotes on dealing with adversity:

John Neal: “A certain amount of opposition is of great help to a man. Kites rise against, not with the wind.”

John Maxwell: “A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose – a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve.”

American Proverb: “A dose of adversity is often as needful as a dose of medicine.”

English Proverb: “A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.”

William A. Ward: “Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records.”

Horace: “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents, which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.”