Forgiveness: Appreciate Your Enemies!

December 7, 2022

Forgiveness: Appreciate Your Enemies!

When there is someone in your life that is just waiting to watch you fail and they are camouflaged snakes that smile in your face but are secretly plotting behind your back, it can cause you to bring out some old characteristics that you thought were gone forever! Especially if the person that is betraying you is someone that you trusted; like a family member, best friend, spouse, or even a close friend it can be heartbreaking!

While we do need to make sure that we are aware of the people that we bring into our inner circle, your enemies actually play a significant role in your life. The Lord uses them to test your obedience, to teach you how to trust Him, and to test your faith in Him. You may not always recognize it, but if you stopped for a second and reflected on the enemies that you have encountered in your life you will realize how they have helped mold you in one way or another.

Some people are so vicious and cruel that they kept you on your knees in prayer asking the Lord for guidance, direction, and if you were being honest, strength that you don’t get yourself out of character and put them in their place. Often times some of the most valuable lessons that you will learn as children of God come from your encounter with people that wish you harm.

There is nothing more difficult than forgiving someone that made it their mission to make your life a living nightmare. It takes strength, maturity, and the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to truly forgive a person that caused you unnecessary chaos and destruction. It is in our human nature to want to retaliate and take matters into our own hands.

As followers of Christ we have to find a way to exhibit the love of God in every single situation regardless of what it is. Your Heavenly Father strategically placed every single person in your path intentionally. We were created in the image of God so the more that you allow His Word to renew your mind, the easier it will be for you to handle your enemies as the Lord Jesus Christ did.

In order for you to have opportunities to show your spiritual maturity in your everyday life, you have to get tried and tested. That is how your adversaries play a role in your pruning process. You will always come out as a better person when you choose to radiate the love of Christ over choosing to allow hatred and bitterness to grow in your heart.

There are several reasons why the Lord will allow people to come into your life to challenge you. I am going to go over some of them to give you an idea as to why your enemies are actually a necessity.

The Lord Uses your Enemies to Test Your Obedience:

Proverbs 16:7

“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

In this bible verse we can see that King Solomon is giving words of wisdom regarding the outcome of someone that is following the Lord’s guidelines for their life. This is including how you treat those that are unjustly mistreating you. The fact of the matter is there is always going to be people that will hate on you for absolutely no reason.

The majority of them are so infiltrated with darkness that they can’t stand the Lord’s light that is radiating from you. Life’s daily struggles can make a person bitter, angry, hostile, and malicious. When someone is filled with all kinds of evil motives, there will be natural opposition towards someone that is living a Christian life filled with the joy of the Lord.

We have to keep in mind that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, Ephesians 6:12. You are not at odds with the person that has built up animosity towards you, but you are fighting the demonic influence behind that person’s actions. If you can gain a clear understanding of this revelation, it will allow you to view your enemies in an entirely different light.

The bottom line is we really don’t know what other people are going through that is causing them to act the way that they do. We have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt even the people that treat us poorly. God is revealing to us in this proverb that if we follow His Word, He will be the One to ensure that our lives are filled with peace. That also includes causing our enemies to silence their malicious actions towards us.

He will allow testing in your life to see if you are truly abiding by the principles that are clearly outlined in the Scriptures depicting God’s love. It is not beneficial for us to do things our own way. He tells us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44), do not rejoice when your enemy falls (Proverbs 24:17), if your enemy is hungry feed them (Romans 12:20), and to bless those that curse you (Luke 6:28).

These are all commandments so He is looking at the condition of your heart. Are you loving those that want to see you fall? Are you lending a helping hand to people even if you know that they are talking about you behind your back? Are you authentically praying for your enemies or are you secretly wishing them harm? These are some of the questions that you want to ask yourself that can reveal to you what your heart posture is looking like.

He Uses Your Enemies to See if You Trust Him:

Romans 12:19

“Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

God’s love and God’s grace is scattered throughout His Word. In fact the death of His Son Jesus Christ is a reflection of just how much He loves every one of us! A lot of times we fail to understand that the Lord also has another side of Him and that is to provide recompense for His children, Jeremiah 51:56.

He will not just let you get treated any kind of way and allow that person to get away with it. He will repay in such a way that the person that did you wrong will wish they never did. The Lord’s Word tells us in Psalm 105:15 “Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” That verse of Scripture is including every child of God that believes in Him, follows Him, and is called by Him.

He will cause people around you to rise up against you trying to create chaos to see how you will react. Are you going to trust that He is Who He says He is? Do you trust that He will repay your enemies for you? God’s wrath is but for a moment it states in Psalm 30:5, but if you have ever been the one in the path of His anger you will learn your lesson real quick.

We are told to never allow the sun to rise on our anger, Ephesians 4:26-27. Meaning that you want to reconcile with whoever you are at odds with in your heart because it is not worth the repercussions. He also explains that it will give place to the devil. Every negative emotion and feeling that is contrary to the Word of God will leave room for the devil to have an open door in your life.

That is why the Lord is so adamant about letting go of any animosity, bitterness, anger, or wrath that you may have towards another person. He will take care of your situation if you allow Him to. A lot of times what ends up happening is we don’t see our enemies being taken care of as quickly as we would like to, so we take matters into our own hands.

That is the worst thing that you can do! Romans 12:19 is clear “…Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.” It’s either we believe Him or we don’t. I learned over the years walking this Christian life that the Lord will always have my back no matter what. There have been so many times when someone wanted to do me dirty but I ended up on top in the long run.

The more that you allow Jesus’ Words to marinate in your mind and your spirit, the more that you will begin to realize the meaning of love and genuinely loving others. The great commandment is to love God with all of your heart but the second is similar; love your neighbor as yourself, Matthew 22:36:39.

If we can stay in the Word of God, study it, and apply it to our lives the Holy Spirit will never lead us astray. He is the Spirit of Truth guiding us into all truth, John 16:13. The question that we have to ask ourselves is do we trust the Lord completely or not?

God Will Use Your Enemies to Test Your Faith:

Exodus 23:22

“But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.”

In this chapter of Exodus, God is breaking down the law to the children of Israel giving them strict and direct instructions on how they are to conduct themselves. This verse that I am highlighting is in regards to the Lord giving direction to the Israelites about obeying the instructions of an angel that God sent them.

He is telling them that if they follow the guidelines that the angel is giving them they will be able to defeat their adversaries: the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. There is a stipulation made here, the Lord is verbalizing to them that they have to obey or have faith in what is being said in order for them to succeed.

This is the same scenario with us today; the first thing that we have to do is follow what the Lord’s Word is telling us in order for God to triumph over our enemies and adversaries for us. We have to have the Faith that He is going to do what His Word tells us He will do. One thing God does not do is take the Scriptures lightly. He is clear that all things will pass away but the Word of God will never pass away, Matthew 24:35.

Unfortunately the world is consumed with wicked people so the chance of you running into someone that doesn’t have your best intentions at heart is highly likely. It really boils down to how you handle those adverse circumstances when they occur. Are you extending grace to them and including them in your daily prayers? Are you attempting to find some kind of common ground with them to ease the tension?

Or, are you plotting and planning how you are going to get them back and how you can’t wait to make them pay the sooner the better! Trust me when I tell you, I know how difficult it is to let someone slide that you know was wrong! It can be infuriating! But, I had to learn by having faith in God that He was going to handle it, and He has never let any one that has hurt me just go by with a pass!

As human beings it is in our nature to want to retaliate and clap back when someone is disrespectful and downright nasty. We have to get in the habit of using those negative moments and turning them into good things like: opportunities to grow and mature as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Conclusion:

One of the many ways that the Lord shapes and molds His children is by using our enemies to do so. He will test the Word that you have in your heart to see if you are developing from a babe in Christ to a mature son. We are never to remain stagnant and the closer that we are to Jesus, the more that we should resemble His character.

You will continue to find yourself in harsh situations with people that want nothing more than to see you fail if you don’t learn the lessons that God is teaching you. When He says to love your neighbor as yourself, He really means that regardless if that neighbor happens to be an enemy.

He will use them to test your obedience to His Word, to see if you trust Him, and to test your faith among other things. It is really up to us to study to show ourselves approved allowing God’s Word to be engrained in our hearts and minds.

I am linking other blogs pertaining to this topic below:

Forgiveness: Recognize the Need to Forgive!

Forgiveness: Learning How to Handle Offense!

Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 2

Spiritual Oppression-The Dangers of Open Doors to the Enemy-Part 3

The Armor of God

The Power of Your Tongue!

The Importance of Forgiveness!

What does it mean to walk by Faith and not by Sight?

7 Steps to Fighting Spiritual Oppression-Real Talk!

Why Is the Cross of Christ so Significant?

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