Love Your Enemy – Godliness in a Tainted WorldSample

Day 2 – The Key

The fact that your current struggle is a spiritual battle to be won with spiritual weapons is the very same truth that will lead to your ability to deal with the opposition in a way that honors and glorifies God. The key to your victory lies in Jesus’ words from his Sermon on the Mount, spoken to His disciples in the midst of social conflict and Roman rule.

“‘But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven...’” (Matthew 5:44-45 NKJV)

In the natural, loving your enemy seems counterproductive, but if you understand the heart of God, you’ll remember two things: He desires that none perish and He has commissioned you, His son or daughter to be “… blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world…” (Philippians 2:15 NKJV)

Within this “crooked and perverse” generation – the world we live in – God has called you to:

Love your enemies

Bless those who curse you

Do good to those who hate you

Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

How can you move past the hurt and pain and anger you’re feeling to be able to love and bless and pray? Start by pinpointing the cause of the conflict – beginning with an honest look at yourself. Are you the guilty party in this incident?

If you somehow instigated the contention, then confess it and clear the blame. Seek out the forgiving, cleansing blood of God to cover your sin, your mistake, your error. Ask God to create in you a clean heart, a right spirit. 

Scripture Declaration: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 NLT)