Yahweh said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Yahweh will extend your mighty rod from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” – Psalm 110:1-2 (from the Hebrew)

In the West, we don’t like to think about having enemies. It feels too aggressive. We want peace, collaboration, and for everyone to just get along. But the reality is, leadership involves opposition. Let me give you an example from when I worked as an IT project manager for a large retail company.

Project Management

When I was 28, I got tasked with integrating 400 stores from a newly acquired retailer into our company’s systems. At the kickoff meeting, I walked into a room with the 17 existing software vendors. A lot of them were worried I’d replace their contracts, so they were on edge. They were much older, more experienced, and knew the systems better than I did. I could feel it: they didn’t see me as the leader.

Then a couple of them just started running the meeting themselves. I sat there thinking, Hmm, I’m the official “project manager”, but that doesn’t seem to matter in this room of powerful people. I realized that being given authority on paper doesn’t mean these people will follow me. I’ll have to take hold of that authority. But how?

I figured maybe one by one. So I pulled aside one guy who looked approachable and asked, “What should I do?” My vulnerability surprised him and I think he felt honored, so he came on board. That cracked the door open. Little by little, I worked to win over the vendors. Some got on board. Some pushed back. One company even said they would sue me personally—which was a little terrifying. My boss just shrugged and said, “We have floors of lawyers, and anyway, you live in Canada. You’ll be fine.”

You can imagine me at home, complaining to my wife: I’ve been given this job, but I don’t have any real authority and my boss isn’t helping me. What I didn’t understand at the time was this: This is the job. It’s easy to lead when everyone’s already on board. The hard part—the real work—is getting people on board when they’re resisting you. No one else could do that for me. Not my boss. Not my title. I had to live it out. I had to believe that if I was appointed to do this then I could do it.

The Reign of Jesus

Back to Psalm 110. Why is this verse the most-quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament? It appears seven times!

Yahweh said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Yahweh will extend your mighty rod from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”

I think we expect Jesus’ reign to mean everything is already perfect. When it’s not, we put our hope in that he will fix it when He comes back again.

But the message that gets repeated over and over is this: Jesus is King. Right now. He’s seated at Yahweh’s right hand, with all authority. Many people have recognized Jesus as their Lord and are living under his rule. At the same time, His enemies are still here, still resisting Him.

When Things are Hard

I was talking to someone recently who’s been faithfully sharing Jesus for 25 years. They’ve prayed, built relationships, and lived out their faith with integrity. But in all that time, only one person has responded. That’s hard.

It’s easy to fall into a loop: Maybe I’m not bold enough. Maybe I’m trying too hard. Maybe I just need to “do my part” and leave the rest to God. But there’s no fruit! So maybe I need to pray more. Or persevere more. Or… You get the idea.

Here’s the thing: resistance is normal. The New Testament talks about enemies a lot. We were once God’s enemies, as is everyone who’s choosing to live under someone else’s rule. Our response is not fighting, but love.

• Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you – Mt 5:44
• a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household – Mt 10:36
• we were God’s enemies – Ro 5:10
• As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies – Ro 11:28
• Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ – Philippians 3:18
• a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God – James 4:4

Jesus doesn’t promise a life without opposition. He rules in the midst of His enemies. And we’re called to join Him in that—not by crushing opposition, but by loving, praying, and proclaiming his kingdom.

Until all his enemies are under his feet.