It’s 3 AM and you’re pacing the floor again. The same battle that’s been raging for months, maybe years, is keeping you awake. That toxic relationship that won’t resolve. The financial pressure that keeps mounting. The diagnosis that arrived without invitation. The betrayal that shattered your trust. The family situation that feels like it’s designed to destroy you.

You’ve been fighting. Oh, how you’ve been fighting. You bind demons. You rebuke the enemy. You declare victory. You stand on promises. You wield your spiritual weapons with the determination of a warrior who refuses to surrender. And still, the opposition persists. Still, the enemy seems to have access. Still, the battle rages on.

I have watched people I love struggle with this. Sadly, I think a lot of believers never discover it. The fight you think you’re in isn’t the fight that’s actually happening.

The Revolutionary Question

What if I told you that your most persistent opposition is actually on assignment from God? You’ve been praying against this opposition. You’ve been fighting against it. You are losing sleep over it. What if the enemy you’ve been trying to defeat is actually working for your ultimate good, commissioned by the very God you’re asking to remove them?

This isn’t comfortable theology. This isn’t the adapted version of faith that fits neatly into our Sunday morning expectations. This is a raw, transformative truth that I think prevents a lot of spiritual children from becoming spiritual fathers and mothers. And once you understand it, everything changes.

The Three Stages of Spiritual Maturity

Most believers journey through predictable stages of spiritual growth. Each stage builds upon the last. Each one reveals deeper layers of God’s mysterious ways. Understanding where you are, and where you’re heading, can revolutionize how you interpret every challenge you face.

Stage 1: Embracing Divine Love

This is where it all begins. The initial phase of faith is where you discover the overwhelming love of Jesus. You also find the incredible gift of a relationship with God. It’s beautiful here. It’s comforting. You learn about grace, about forgiveness, about being chosen and beloved. You experience the joy of salvation. You feel the freedom of deliverance. There is peace in knowing you’re accepted. You marvel at the wonder of answered prayers.

This stage is crucial. It helps to establish your identity as a child of God. It builds the foundation of trust that will sustain you through everything that follows. You learn to recognize God’s voice, to feel His presence, and to rest in His love. Many believers spend years here. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, we should never mistake this stage for the fullness of spiritual maturity.

Your comfort zone becomes dangerous when it keeps you from the deeper work God wants to do in your life. You begin to think that faith should always feel good, that God’s will should always be pleasant, and that opposition is always from the enemy. This stage teaches you about God’s heart, but it doesn’t reveal the full scope of His sovereignty.

Stage 2: Engaging in Spiritual Warfare

As you grow with God, something shifts. You begin to recognize that there are forces actively working against God’s purposes in your life. You discover the reality of spiritual warfare, that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). This is both terrifying and empowering.

You learn how to fight. You study spiritual warfare, memorize scriptures about your authority in Christ, and actively practice binding and loosing. For me, truly grasping that the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead lives within me was incredibly powerful. I discovered that I can speak prophetically to myself and declare God’s Word over my life. Even in the darkest seasons, I experienced some of the greatest revelations and healing because God is not confined to a church building or limited to any one person. Through the blood of Jesus, you have direct access to His power. You begin to recognize demonic attacks, cultivate spiritual discernment, and operate confidently in the authority Jesus entrusted to His followers.

This stage is vital. You learn that the enemy is real, that his attacks are strategic, and that you have been given weapons that are mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). You discover your authority in Christ, the power of the blood, and the importance of standing firm against the schemes of the devil.

But here’s what I think a lot of believers never realize: even this stage, as necessary as it is, isn’t the end of the journey. There’s something beyond warfare. Something that transcends the constant battle between good and evil. Something that reveals a level of divine sovereignty so profound that it reframes everything you thought you knew about opposition.

Many believers get stuck here, spending their entire spiritual lives in warfare mode, never discovering the deeper truth that lies beyond the battlefield. They live in constant awareness of enemy activity, always fighting, always on guard, always seeing every challenge through the lens of spiritual attack. And while discernment and spiritual warfare are crucial skills, there’s a more excellent way.

Stage 3: Understanding Opposition as Divine Purpose

This is where everything changed for me. This is the place where you begin to understand that even your opposition serves a divine purpose. Where you realize that God’s sovereignty is so complete, His wisdom so profound, that even the enemy’s attacks are ultimately serving your good and His glory.

This isn’t passive fatalism. This isn’t “let go and let God” theology that ignores the reality of spiritual warfare. This is the deep, profound understanding that God’s purposes are so comprehensive that even Satan’s schemes serve His ultimate plan. It’s the recognition that Romans 8:28 doesn’t just apply to the good things. It applies to ALL things. This includes the attacks, the setbacks, the betrayals, and the oppositions that have been trying to destroy you.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Read that again. ALL things. Not some things. Not the comfortable things. Not just the things that feel like blessings. ALL things work together for good when you’re aligned with God’s purposes. This includes the very opposition you’ve been fighting against. This includes the enemies who have been assigned to your destruction. This includes the circumstances that have brought you to your knees.

This revelation changes everything. It transforms how you pray, how you fight, and how you interpret the battles raging around your life. Instead of simply fighting against your opposition, you begin to ask different questions: What is this serving? What is God accomplishing through this? How is this opposition actually working for my good and His glory?

The Kingdom Within: Manifesting Through Opposition

One of the most revolutionary truths Jesus taught was that the Kingdom of God isn’t a distant reality we’re waiting to experience, it’s a present reality that lives within us. “The kingdom of God is within you” Luke 17:21. Not in church buildings, not in religious systems, not in external structures, but within you. Right now. In the middle of your mess. In the center of your shame.

But here’s what most believers miss: one of the most powerful ways the Kingdom manifests through your life is in how you navigate opposition. The world watches how you handle betrayal, financial pressure, health crises, and relational conflicts. They’re not impressed by your Sunday morning worship service, they’re transformed by your Thursday afternoon faith when everything is falling apart.

Your opposition isn’t just random spiritual attack. It’s not just the enemy trying to destroy your life. Your opposition is the very platform God uses to demonstrate His Kingdom through you. It’s the stage upon which your faith performs its greatest miracles. It’s the laboratory where your character is refined and your testimony is forged.

Think about it: every great biblical hero faced their most defining moments in the middle of intense opposition. Joseph’s greatness wasn’t revealed in his dreams, it was revealed in the prison. David’s anointing wasn’t confirmed in the palace, it was confirmed in the cave while running from Saul. Moses’ leadership wasn’t established in the comfort of Pharaoh’s house, it was forged in the wilderness while dealing with rebellious people.

Your current opposition isn’t trying to prevent your destiny, it’s trying to birth it. The very thing that feels like it’s working against you is actually working to prepare you for what God has called you to carry. The enemy doesn’t attack randomly; he attacks strategically, targeting the very areas where God wants to demonstrate His greatest power through your life.

Moving Beyond the Battlefield

We often perceive our struggles as direct attacks from an enemy, using our spiritual energy to fight back. But what if those challenges, even the most difficult ones, are actually working for you? What if they are appointed to serve a higher purpose in your life? This profound truth can transform how you confront every obstacle.

The enemy’s strategy backfires when you understand this principle. He attacks your finances to discourage you; God uses it to teach you about His provision. He attacks your relationships to isolate you; God uses it to draw you deeper into intimacy with Him. He attacks your health to weaken you; God uses it to demonstrate His healing power or to develop your character through suffering.

Romans 5:3-5 makes this clear: “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Your tribulations aren’t random. They’re not punishment. They’re not evidence that God has abandoned you. They’re strategic assignments designed to produce something in you that can’t be developed any other way. The enemy thinks he’s destroying you; God is using the enemy’s attacks to manufacture perseverance, character, and unshakeable hope in your life.

Understanding this transforms everything. It changes how you pray, how you respond to challenges, and how you view the persistent battles in your life. Instead of seeing every difficulty as something to eliminate, you begin to see it as something that might be serving a divine purpose you haven’t yet understood.

The fight you think you’re fighting might not be the fight that’s actually happening. And once you grasp this truth, everything changes.