Day 67
Bless and Do Not
Curse
While many will render good for good, we must
render good for evil; and this will speak a nobler principle than most men act
by.[i]
Matthew Henry
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ne morning I had what can only be
termed a meltdown. On my knees, I cried out my perspective to the Lord. I
enumerated the ways I had suffered over the years, reminded the Lord of key
junctures at which I had obeyed, and cried outrage toward those who had sinned
against me.
In the afternoon I
learned something upsetting had happened to the people about whom I'd
complained to the Lord, something that, if the situation had proceeded to its
expected end (it did not), would have had a disastrous impact for them. I was
appalled, and felt perhaps I'd contributed to this event through my impassioned
cries to God that morning. I prayed sincerely (belatedly) that the Lord
forgive these people and bless them.
The influence we have
over the heart of the Lord who loves us needs to be taken seriously. It is
Christlike to forgive someone who has hurt us, and loving our enemies and
praying for them pleases God. But what if we are so hurt or frightened
that we lose control of our emotions and fall at the Lord's feet, sobbing out
only our own pain and grief? "In all their distress, He too was
distressed..." (Isaiah 63:9). When God's parental ire is raised on
behalf of his suffering children, He will take action. We don't want to
feel like the child who tattles and then finds too late that watching his friend
suffer is not to his liking.
I love those precious
people I ranted about to the Lord. Because of the coincidence of something
bad happening to them on the very day I'd cried out to God regarding them, I
was truly concerned I'd caused them harm until the Lord brought to mind the
book A Christmas Carol, by
Charles Dickens. I remembered Scrooge's delirious joy when he awoke and
realized the three ghosts had been just a dream, and that he still had time to
change. Nothing truly bad happened after all, I still had time to change! And,
Romans 12:14 revealed to me that not only is it better to pray blessings rather
than harm, it is God’s command: “Bless
those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
The Lord used a
coincidence to provide me a lesson, similar to the one Scrooge experienced, of
why we are to be merciful rather than incensed when we are wronged. Our
natural tendency is to be selfish with our time and resources and vengeful when
others appropriate something we’ve labeled our own; remember that until he met
the ghosts, Scrooge didn't mind letting the poor stay in their hovels so long
as he had his share. The Lord provided me a snapshot of how it would feel if my
Scrooge-like action or inaction caused suffering to fall on the head of others,
and it was a terrible feeling.
Our hearts are safe
in God's hands; let us pray that His heart for others is safe with us. We can't
avoid being hurt, and the Lord doesn’t ask us to suppress our pain or to
withhold sharing it with Him. However, our prayers should never consist solely
of complaints against our fellow human beings because this is a terrible
failure to love as we’ve been loved and forgive as we’ve been
forgiven. Let us pray now with Jesus' words that made salvation available
to us: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing" (Luke 23:33-35).
Pray: Lord, please
temper my anger with Your mercy, and keep me from sinning when I have been
wronged. I lift those who have caused me harm to You, and pray that You heal
what is wrong in them and bring them the blessings of learning to know and
trust in You. Lord, please mend what has been broken, heal what has been hurt,
and provide restitution for the sins that have been done to me. But I lift my
enemies to You, and I forgive them, because You forgave me. Amen.
~~~
But
love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get
anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the
Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just
as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not
condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Luke 5:35-37 NIV
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