Each and every one of us has been hurt a time or two. In our lives enemies rise up in the forms of people who we work with, so called friends, acquaintances, people who we know well or maybe not so well, and even our family members. Yet, regardless of who they might be there is one thing that remains constant, our enemies mean us no good and seek to cause us harm. So how are we to respond to this? How are we as Christians to find peace when the devil is using others to destroy our peace?
Well the answer can be found in Matthew 5:44, a verse I’m sure most of us are familiar with. It’ states, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you…” I can imagine that’s not the answer you wanted to hear but it’s the truth anyhow, so bear with me for a few more moments.
Christ methods of doing things are not like ours, and unlike our methods His get amazing results. So if you truly want the ability to rise above the hurtful words, false accusations, and mistreatment we often receive from our enemies then you must be committed to following four steps:
#1 Love Your Enemies
You have got to dig deep down inside of you and love your enemies. Yeah, I know that might sound like a cliché, but it’s the truth. In order to overcome the foolishness our enemies send our way we must learn to love them. 1 Peter 4:8 tells us, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.” What we must realize is that sin and sin alone is causing our enemies to attack us. Therefore, we must look at these individuals through the eyes of Jesus and love them despite of the sin. Remember, Jesus does this for us on a daily basis.
#2 Bless Them that Curse You
As Christians we should never stoop to the level of others. We are much better than that because we’ve been redeemed by the blood of the lamb. Therefore, if our enemies choose to curse us through the negative words they say about us, we must in turn bless them with the positive words we utter concerning them. Now you might be thinking to yourself, “Really?? Why would I want to speak positively about someone who is dogging me out?” Well, here’s the thing. The devil expects you to fight fire with fire, curse with curse. Yet, by never allowing one negative word to come out of our mouth pertaining to your enemies you’re acting like Christ. In no way am I suggesting that you should lie and say things you don’t mean, however I am suggesting that you make a conscious effort to never allow yourself to speak negatively about that person.
#3 Do Good to Them That Hate You
Admittedly, it might be a little difficult when you see your enemy to refrain from running up to them and putting them in a headlock. Believe me I’ve been tempted a time or two. So instead of releasing your pint up aggression in a negative manner why not walk up to them and simply give them a hug. Obviously, it would be in your best interest to pray first, we wouldn’t want that hug of brotherly love to turn into something more reminiscent of the WWF. The reality is that when we do good to those who mistreat us we are actually quenching the fire of pain they have ignited in our lives.
# 4 Pray for Them Which Despitefully Use You and Persecute You
Prayer is the key to all of life’s problems. When we are dealing with those who have hurt us it is easy to pray about them but much more challenging to pray for them. It’s easy to drop to your knees and beg the Lord to rain down fire and brimstone on the head of the one who has hurt you, but that’s not the kind of prayer I’m talking about. I would suggest that we pray that the Holy Spirit would have total reign in their life, that they would resist the temptations of the enemy and accept the gift of eternal life that Jesus offers them freely. That is how you pray FOR your enemy.
So there you have it, four biblical ways to find peace when dealing with your enemies. Will they work? Of, course they will. Are they easy to follow? Not really. Our human nature tends to resist each and every one of these steps. Yet if we want to overcome the enemies attacks we’ve got to learn to do things God’s way. It’s in our obedience that we will discover peace. It’s not always easy but it’s always worth the effort.
Homework: If you’ve experienced hurt from an enemy, in what ways can you show them the love of Christ despite their actions? How will you pray for them? How will you treat them? Think about it and write down your thoughts in your journal.
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