The Bible says we are to love our enemies. There’s no way I could ever love my enemies if it were all left up to me. Sometimes I get so upset at people I want to wring their necks. It's only God’s hand on me that has stopped me from doing that. Every day I have to confess my real feelings to Him and ask Him to put His love there in its place because I just cannot do it on my own. It's quite a struggle.
There are so many times God has replaced my anger with His love and I never cease to be amazed at this. When I’m able to respond to someone who has hurt me or is yelling at me, with quiet words that are kind, it shocks even me. It’s like something super-natural has taken possession of my body. (Which is in fact, it has, God's holy Spirit.)
What's even more amazing is to see the other person’s reaction. There they are, yelling and acting crazy, obviously wanting a fight, and instead of getting a fight they get a soft answer. The look on their face is priceless! It’s one of utter confusion and they stand there for a moment like they’re wondering what to do next. Usually, they start yelling some more, and then end up stuttering and stomping out of the room. (I guess there really is something to that verse about "heaping coals.")
Sometimes we feel anger at the whole world. There’s so much evil out there and sometimes people are so smug and brazen. How is it possible to keep love in our hearts when people flaunt evil in our faces? One way to deal with it is to try to remember people who don’t have God in their lives really can't help being the way they are. They are submitting to an evil force and don’t even realize it. Just as we try to submit our will to God and allow Him to control our lives and actions, they are submitting to Satan who is controlling their lives and actions.
It’s a lot easier to allow Satan to have control than it is to allow God to because human nature is already evil. When a person rejects God, Satan immediately has complete control over them. All those people out there who believe they are their own gods and have complete control over their own bodies and minds are deceiving themselves in the worst way. They are under bondage and don't even know it. When Jesus said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do…” it's because they really don't know.
It's only through the Holy Spirit that we're even able to have compassion for and pray for our enemies. We should remind ourselves every day that if it wasn't for God, we would be just like the very people we find so hard to love.
It's so incredible...
ReplyDeleteBefore I truely accepted God, I would always have such a huge storage of hatred locked within.
I was constanly picked on as a child, and though I was taught to never do anything back, I would bottle up such intense hatred for all of my "enemies", I always thought I would be the introverted quiet guy who brings a gun to school and kills everyone.
Anger had such a hold on me that I would dream about suicide daily, and always tease myself with thoughts on if I were to unleash my anger.
It's sad really...
Before I knew God, I could have sworn I was Satans child.
God removed all my hateful tendencies, all bitterness, and all resent.
He has shown me my "enemies" were really just my fallen brothers and sisters.
He assured me that it was Him who held me back all those times.
He taught me to pray for their forgiveness, and see them for what they are: Sick, misguided slaves.
They have forgotten what love is, because they have forgotten God.
When God calms me down and helps me talk calmly with a someone who is in a screaming rage, It really puts things in perspective: We are all children, and you can tell who our Father is by how we act.
I went through the same thing when I was young and it took me a long time before I was able to submit my will to God and allow His love to show through. It's so hard because our human nature is constantly trying to overpower God's spiritual nature.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you are finding out at such a young age that we need to rely on God for everything. It will save you from many years of heartache! Believe me, I know.
God bless you.
Thank you for this precious blog post. Thank you for sharing your insights, which are God's blessings to you and to all of us who read your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, "anonymous." I feel so blessed when someone let's me know they have been encouraged. :o)
ReplyDelete