Daily Devotional - 8/28/15 (10/28/09)

Prayer Focus - Enemies


Day 7
Pray for:
One person who was mean to you when you were a child
One person who has given you a lot of trouble recently
One person from your family (immediate or extended) that has given you trouble
One person from work or a social circle that has given you trouble
One person that you feel is a danger to your well being even though you have never met
One person who is unaware that they are hurting you
One person who you believe will never apologize for the pain they have caused you


Pray about:
Their physical needs
Their mental needs
Their emotional needs
Their spiritual needs
Your ability to offer complete forgiveness from your heart
Your ability to let go of the hurts and move on whether they will ever apologize or not


Dear Lord - Please open my ears to hear and grant me the strength to obey.


Psalms 58


"Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be." ( vs. 3-5)



This is a hard teaching.  Some people are evil early on. We do not understand this and we wonder why?  Perhaps we will never know, but God knows; the God who looks on the hearts of all men.  He knows everything about these people.  He knows they are people who will not listen to anyone.  He knows they are set on seeking their own will, no matter what the consequences are.  He even knows they have trouble looking past today.  Often these people do very well in life and they succeed in their ways.  Sometimes, they do better than those of us who are striving so hard to do what's right.  We struggle with this. We become angry and bitter.  We desire revenge.  Sometimes we even do stupid things to "pay them back".  But this is not what God desires.  God desires for us to let go and let Him take care of it.  God does see.  He does know.  He says in Romans 12:17 - 21:

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay' says the Lord.  On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Bottom line, we need to still do good, no matter what anyone else is doing.  Our salvation and well being is not worth throwing away because of some evil person.  We are worth so much more to God than that.  He does not want for us to ruin our lives.  He continually says, "I will take care of this!  You do what's right!"  God WILL take care of it.  It may not be on our timing, but it will happen.  We need to let it go and give it to God.  We need to pour out our feelings and emotions to God and then wait patiently.  He is the only one that can change a man's heart.  All our strivings will do nothing but destroy our lives.  Our bitterness and hatred does no damage to the evil person, only ourselves.  

This takes us to another layer of trust.  We need to trust that God will win in the end.  We need to trust that God will purge out the evil and then the righteous will find relief.  It is not up to us to do the purging. We are to stay righteous and to love our enemies.  We are to leave justice and revenge up to God, who is sinless. He will do it in the most effective way possible and we, we will be rewarded for walking the high road; for not seeking revenge, for loving our enemy and overcoming evil with good. So let us remember the final promise of this psalm: 

"The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, ...Then men will say, 'Surely the righteous are still rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.' " ( vs. 10a, 11)





Prayer for the Day


Dear Lord,

We pray that we are never like the wicked men. Keep our hearts in tune to Your word and receptive to the help and assistance of others. Help us to always be willing to learn and grow. Help us to train our children so that they will not grow up into wicked men and women. It is a serious responsibility that You have given us and we pray for Your strength, wisdom, and guidance. We are waiting on You.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen


QFT


1. How do I feel about this idea that some people are wicked early on? How have I seen this in my life or in the lives of those around me?

2. Is it difficult for me to accept the idea of God's judgment? Why or why not? How can I develop a greater understanding and appreciation for this aspect of God's character?

3. How do I feel when I see injustice? How do I feel when I see justice done? Why?  What do I do about unjust situations?  Is there a better way for me to deal with what I see around me?

4. Do I seek revenge?  Why?  How do I see myself being vengeful?  What should I do instead?  How can I get help with this?

5. How do I treat my enemies?  Am I overcoming evil with good or am I acting evil as well?  How can I do this?  Are there any situations that I am in right now that I am not handling correctly?  How can I change?