Haters

"Through His holy prophets He promised of old that He would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us." - Luke 1:70-71

We very well know that God asks that we turn the other cheek, but the fact of the matter is that some people are impossible to deal with! Recently, I heard about something someone is doing to someone I love and I can't help but ask myself how people are capable of being so evil. It's easy to see that a lot of these things spring up from deep insecurities and jealousy, but they do cause real damage. An important thing I'm learning is that God loves those people that mean us harm as well, and if sometimes situations are taking long to clear themselves out, it can be because God is giving that person time to repent. After all, how many times have we been wrong and God forgives us? But above all, our God is a god of justice and He lives up to every one of His promises. This verse from Luke was proclaimed by Zacariah, John The Baptist's father, when he saw that his son would be the one who would pave the way for the Messiah, the One who would free us from all injustice.

When I heard about the situation with my loved one, my first reaction was to want to hurt the person doing the harm. I got so angry! But, for my part, the best thing I do is remain still and let God take care of it. Jesus says in His word that no matter what people do to us, we should be perfect and righteous as God is perfect and righteous. Nothing done out of vengeance will ever turn out well. To be good people, people of peace, our only option is to keep our hearts pure, free from hate and judgment, and allow the Lord to take care of it, no matter the gossip people spread about us and the harm they do. Jesus sees the hate people develop for us without cause. He is the Messiah, He will be faithful to His promise of delivering us from our enemies.

Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, You promised to deliver us from our enemies. Protect us from their traps and their venom, but most of all, preserve our hearts from hating them in return and never allow us to judge them. In Your Name we pray, amen.