She JourneysSample

Winter - Written by Meg Cooke

Day 6 - A Time for Love and a Time to Hate (v8)

Hate doesn’t seem very biblical, does it? Hate for people is not biblical.  Hate of sin and evil, however, can be found within God’s word, see Proverbs 8:13 and Psalm 97: 10. 

Sometimes in our winter season God is leading us to hate the sin and evil in our lives.   We all have sin and evil in our lives, but God is continually leading us from this sin and evil towards righteousness and goodness. 

The winter season sometimes comes when we are reluctant to let go of the evil in our lives.  Sometimes evil things become a part of us and the stripping away of an old identity and the replacement with a new one can be a tricky and painful process, particularly when we are unwilling. 

Change happens most effectively when we hate where we are and love where we are going.  God wants to transform our hearts to not just shrug at the gossip, indifference, laziness etc., but to hate these behaviors,  because they are not of God 

Consider these questions in your time with God today:

1. What sin and evil does God want to remove from me?
2. Have I been willing or unwilling to allow God to do this?
3. Why must the sin and evil found within me be removed so that I can enter into the new season God has for me? Romans 12:9

Hating the sin in our lives is not a pointless exercise; it creates in us a purer and more sincere heart which is better able to love God, love others, and prepare for the unbelievable destiny God has ahead.