His Enemies, Our Enemies

It’s ok if you have enemies. In fact, God does. And He says we will too, if we follow Him. Psalm 139 takes a turn from addressing us and His plan for us, to addressing God and His enemies. Let’s look at Psalm 139:19-22 New American Standard Bible:

O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

In a world that seems to be wanting us to turn everything gray, God makes a clear distinction between those who love Him and those who hate Him. And those who hate Him, He calls His enemies. It’s one or the other, not both. David, the psalmist, is asking God to slay the wicked, those who take His name in vain, who cause bloodshed, and while God promises us that He will deliver justice to the wicked, He also instructs us in a different way to deal with our own enemies.

Yes, God does promise justice will be served (Luke 18:7-8), but He is also a kind God who draws us to Himself. When Jesus sent His disciples ahead to make preparations for Him and they did not receive the welcome they anticipated, they asked Jesus if they could slay the people. We read in Luke 9:53-56 NASB:

But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] 

While He could easily have slayed them, since He is God, He chose here to extend kindness instead. Don’t get me wrong, there will be a day when a person will stand either by their own works or by the blood of Jesus and receive the justice deserved (Romans chapter 2 explains this more). On that day, you want to be standing under the blood of Jesus, that washes your sin away and covers you with His righteousness. While God is just, He is also kind. But justice will be served in the end (see Revelation).

So how are we to treat our own enemies? It certainly is not easy to treat our enemies like God wants us too. His instructions for us are in Matthew 5:44-45 NASB:

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

We are to PRAY FOR our enemies, LOVE them, and even BLESS them (Matthew 5:44). Is there someone in your life that is your enemy, or if you don’t have an actual enemy, is there someone in your life who does not like you? Make it a point to start PRAYING for that person. Ok, good job! Now start LOVING that person. Could you take them a meal? or could you mow their lawn? Great! Now find a way to BLESS them. This includes how you speak about them to others. Ok, we are really getting into a challenge now. Is your mouth blessing them in front of others? Now you are getting it! These are Jesus instructions on what to do with your own enemies. Then when they ask you why you are treating them this way, you can say it is because you know Jesus and you are following His instructions!

I have issued you a challenge. The only way you can meet this challenge, is in the strength that Jesus gives you! So next time you are confronted with an enemy, a person who doesn’t like you, an unkind person, try to

PRAY FOR THEM, LOVE THEM, BLESS THEM.

In His Love,

Suzanne