Warriors Arise: October 6, 2023
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain mercy.
This verse shouts out, "Pay attention, this is good stuff! Woot! Woot!" It is the only blessing in the beatitudes where what you do, will be given back to you. When you are merciful to others, you will obtain mercy.
So many verse come to mind.
Galatians 6:8a-10 but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
Wow! Did you catch that last phrase? "Especially to those who are of the household of faith." When I invite people to church, I hear, "I used to go all the time, but there are mean people in church. I'll never go again." It may have been as bad as they say it was. However, no one is perfect. People od not go to church becuase they are perfect. They go to church, or should be going to church to worship God, who loves them with all their imperfections. We worship God, who is perfect. But His people are not perfect. We are human. Jesus was perfect and is perfect, but we are not Jesus. Yes, Ephesians 5:1 tells us to imitate God, but that doesn't mean our flesh doesn't get in the way at times.
You get hurt at work. Do you quit your job?
You get hurt by family. Do you
You get hurt by your spouse. Do you leave them?
You get hurt by your kids, especially teenagers, do you throw them out and tell them never to come back?
You get hurt by friends. Do you turn your back on them?
I am not saying to remain in abusive situations; however, there has to be more to us. We have to have enough Jesus within us to have tenacity to love people through the pain they have caused us.
If they leave, we can't do anything about it. But we must really hear from God as to our time to leave. More often than not, He is going to have us stay and rise above with His character to be merciful.
Someone who is merciful, had a reason to be resentful, hateful, angry and the legal right to want revenge. But they chose to be merciful.
They chose to offer forgiveness.
They chose to help the person be restored to their position.
They chose to strength them through their prayers for them.
They chose to agape.
They chose to help clean them up not spit them out.
They didn't just chose the high road, they invited the offender to rise up with them.
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Too many times we take out of context, "vengeance is mine," says the Lord." (Deut. 32:35 & Rom. 12:17-19) People may think God is giving us the go-ahead to be vengeful. However, that is not how it reads in Scriptural context. God is wanting us to let Him disciple those who have hurt us. He is the one that is to take vengeance upon those who have wronged us.
I remember two of my children fighting. If I remember correctly, one had accidentally broken something of the other's. The child grabbed the other's toy and broke it, then came to me and wanted me to discipline the first child for breaking their toy. I listened to both. Then turned to the second child who broke the first child's on purpose and said, "I will not do anything."
They were really mad at Mommy. I responded, "You already rendered what you felt to be justice; therefore, you stepped in when you should have come to me first. You had no right to break their toy. They accidentally broke yours, but you broke their's on purpose. You will be buying them a new toy. You are not Mommy or Daddy; therefore, you do not have the right to take disciplinary actions into your own hands. You are to come to Mommy or Daddy and we will discipline."
We do this to God. Someone does something incredibly mean to us. We lash back, yet it doesn't seem enough. We want someone else to agree with us that we were wronged by them, so we go to others and slander the other person with our poison. If we do not feel justified then we may turn to God and tell Him an earful. Then we get completely upset and think God doesn't love us because we do not see Him do any form of discipline to the one who hurt us. It isn't that He can't discipline them, it is that He won't. We already took matters into our own hands and when we did, we sinned.
We sinned because we would not be merciful; therefore, we do not have mercy being given to us.
Father, help me to understand this concept. I don't want to render discipline when it isn't my place. I want to be one who is merciful. I want to extend mercy even in the midst of the attacks against me. I want to speak words of kindness and agape. I want to understand that only a hurt person hurts others because they are hurt. I pray to be a merciful person in all situations in Jesus' name amen.
A Warrior in the Lord’s Army,
Veridee Joy Hand
Join together as Believers in Jesus Christ to pray and to push back the enemy as we release God’s power here on earth. If you have any questions please feel free to make a comment or private message me. If you would like this to come to your email directly please go to verideehand.com and subscribe.
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