Find Rest In God
They (enemies) plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They are friendly to my face, but they curse me in their hearts. -- Psalm 62:3
How many times are we supposed to forgive someone who hurts us? How many times are we supposed to show mercy to someone who has betrayed us? How many times are we supposed to turn the other cheek when someone spreads lies about us?
As many times as it happens, for as long as it happens. That is so not what I want to hear. How about you? It just seems there should come a point when we get to shove back but that’s not what God says. But He also says He’ll take care of it. I do trust Him on that.
I also realize that I should forgive others no matter what because God has forgiven me, no matter what. And I know I should show mercy when others wrong me because God has shown me mercy when I have wronged Him. God takes me back and forgives me no matter how many times I mess up. I try to stay focused on that when I’m struggling to hold my tongue and not retaliate against my enemies.
Maybe it would be easier if my enemies were people I rarely see. Isn’t it easier to let things go when it’s someone we don’t deal with often? But that’s not usually the case. Because those distant people don’t have the power to wound us like the people close to us have. They don’t know the buttons to push. They don’t know where the open wounds lie.
There is one safe place to take all this anger and disappointment. There is one place to lay all the hurt and the bitterness. At God’s feet. He’s the only one that really gets it because He sees and hears it all.
Some days I’d rather just run away. It would be easier, don’t you think? Okay. Running away from situations doesn’t solve anything or change the reality. Some people are just not trustworthy. Some people are jealous, no matter the circumstances. Some people lie just because they think they can. I can’t change them and neither can you. Only God can work a miracle in people like that.
So I struggle with my own heart. I don’t want it to harden so much that it no longer feels the joys of life. But I want to protect it from the constant heartbreak. Isn’t there some middle ground? I sure haven’t found it yet.
Most days the criticism just rolls right off. Years of experience has taught me to let it go. Have you reached that point yet? It really is the best way to go. Not that it always works. There are days I just feel so raw, every nasty word just seems to rip me apart inside.
Unhappy people seem to find solace in making those around them unhappy too. But no one can take from me the joy I have found in Jesus. There is a peace in knowing that no matter what the world delivers, there is rest in the shadow of His wings.
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