One of the best ways to remain in peace is to not let others steal the best life God has in store for us. This is not easy most of the time, because there are a lot of upsetting things that can occur in a day. But if we try our best to shake off the judgements and the unkind treatment we have received from others, we can peacefully move on in our daily lives.
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27
We can achieve such a mindset when we look at God as our vindicator. After all, the Lord is a God of both mercy and justice. If we have been wronged or abused, we can count on Him to make things right. And even if His justice does not happen right away, nor in the process we would like it to take place, we can be sure that He will straighten things up either way.
““No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their vindication is from Me,” declares the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17
Jesus Himself showed us how to react around our haters and bashers. In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus faced adversaries in His own hometown when He said that Isaiah’s prophecies about the coming of the Messiah are now fulfilled. But instead of getting mad at the people for rejecting Him, He just went on His way without uttering a word and left them.
“They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” Luke 4:29-30
When we let anger stall us, affect our daily life and hold us down, we miss out on the abundant life Christ died for us to experience. We also miss out on God’s purpose for us. Imagine, our Savior died on the cross so that we can finally live free from guilt and all the anxieties and fears that once paralyzed us and then we let one upsetting thing or action keep us in a black hole? Now that is really what you call missing out.
And so instead of being annoyed, or angry, or even resentful, let us try our best to choose the path Christ calls us to walk on. Let us choose to be humble and meek, choose to be polite in the face of slander, and leave it all up to God.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Romans 12:14-21 and Luke 4:14-30 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: How do you react when someone upsets you? How does it assure you that peace will remain with you when you follow Christ’s path of humility?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father., thank you for setting the example of being humble amid haters. Thank you, you love us enough to assure us that you will make things right. Give me the confidence my Lord, to hold on to this promise of yours, as I cede to you the hurts I have experienced from others. Amen.