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“The wicked run away when no one is chasing them, but the godly are as bold as lions. Proverbs 28:1
Have you ever been awakened at night by a sound you couldn’t identify. You laid there listening. Going over in your mind what the sound could be. Finally, with fear and trembling you get up and investigate the sound only to find out it was nothing more than a branch brushing against the window. The sound was real. The fear was real. The danger? Nothing to be alarmed over. Fear can deceive you.
Over the years there have been countless predictions of catastrophic events that would destroy life on earth as we know it. The advent of the internet, social media and AI have only compounded the problem. We seem to thrive on fear! Every day we are bombarded with advertisements saying this drug will heal you but the side effects may kill you. We are warned about the effects of this political party or that agenda. Fear can cause stress, health problems and cause people to make irrational assumptions and decisions.
Ironically, studies have shown that many of our fears are unwarranted. Fear is an emotion based on assumptions. Courage, on the other hand, is a mindset based on what we know to be true. It was fear that kept the Israelite army hiding in their tents from Goliath, but is was courage sent a young shepherd boy out to slay the giant. It wasn’t his strength that took down the giant, it was faith in the power of his God.
Putting your faith in mankind’s power and intelligence leads to fear and despair. We don’t have a great track record on solving social, political or economic issues.
Putting your faith in God is a different matter. While we may not understand his ways, God has a proved track record. He does what he says he’ll do. Faith in a God that is in complete control allows us to see through the foolishness of man to the power of God. It gives us boldness when others are full of fear.
Proverbs 28:1 likens the person who trusts in God to a lion that walks with boldness. Life issues don’t bother him because he knows he is the king! Our position in Christ is far more than the promise of eternity after we die. It’s a promise of God walking beside us every day of our lives.
Are you walking boldly because of your faith in God, or living in fear of something He’s already defeated?
Grace Nugget: Grace gives us boldness to face life because our confidence isn’t in our strength but in a God who goes before us.
“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” Romans 12:14
How do you respond to those who attack you? For those of us in the USA we are fortunate at this point that most of the attacks we endure are verbal or emotional. We may be ostracized because of our religious, social or political views, but our level of ‘persecution’ is more like harassment compared to other areas of the world where nonconforming puts one’s very life at risk.
Hard as it may be, our level of persecution/harassment isn’t as important as how we respond to our attacker. The Apostle Paul knew what true persecution was. He was stoned, shackled, beaten and imprisoned and left for dead. The Jews hated him for following this Jesus person, the Greeks mocked him for thinking there was only one God and only one way to the Father.
So, what is Paul’s advice to us, based on his personal experience with persecution? Offer a blessing on them. Not only personally on his behalf, but asking God to bless them as well! He writes in Romans 12:14 that we should “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.”
To bless those who are against us is totally against everything our human nature calls us to. People call for justice but really only want revenge. It seems virtually impossible to have a differing opinion without being attacked by those who may think differently. Social media has poured gasoline on the fire!
But for the follower of Jesus Christ, offering a blessing on our antagonist may actually be beneficial. While we can never condone prejudicial behavior, there are four positive things that can come from our act of blessing our antagonist.
Praying for a blessing on our antagonist changes our focus from the conflict to the individual across the table from us. Whatever differences we have, we are all God’s creation. Whether your antagonist believes in God or not, they are God’s creation, Jesus died for them and the most important thing we can do is to bring them into a relationship with Jesus.
Secondly, praying for a blessing on your antagonist is an act the reflects the grace each of us receives from Christ and none of us deserves. Grace allows us to be wrong!
Thirdly, praying for a blessing on your antagonist is an act of humility. As Jesus was dying and in extreme agony, he was surrounded by antagonists mocking him, spitting on him, and beating him. His response was the ultimate example of humility. ‘Father forgive them.”
Lastly, praying for a blessing on your antagonist calls on God, as our Heavenly Father to, through His Holy Spirit, to make a change; to soften a heart; to heal a wound; to calm a troubled mind.
As believers in Jesus we are called to a ministry of reconciliation. Praying for blessings on our antagonists is one way in which we can be the change.
Grace Nugget: Praying a blessing on your antagonist is a reflection of the blessing you have received through grace.
