This week I decided to take a break from the Love Letters from God series for a very special reason. God has laid something on my heart to share with you. Today, I want to share with you a lesson that God has taught me and, is still teaching me, that has brought me SO close to Him. Something I thought would prove impossible to do only proved that nothing is impossible with God. I know every single one of you has an enemy or enemies. How many of you can say with confidence that you are obeying the Lord’s command to love each of your enemies? Today, I am able to say with confidence that I love my enemy, but I can assure that was not the case at one point in my life. Let me share with you my journey of loving my enemies.
When I was younger I was confused by the statement I would hear in church, “Love your enemies.” I distinctively remember thinking, “Who are my enemies, and why am I supposed to love them?” I will never forget the day that this command proved to be the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. That would be the day I learned what an enemy was. I remember thinking there is no possible way I can love him; he caused way too much pain and heartache in my life. This was a man whose desire was to bring me down, use me, abuse me, put me in danger, confuse me and pull me far away from TRUTH and LOVE and bring me into a life full of EVIL and LIES. Surely God had no expectations for me to love this person?
I felt as though the pain this enemy caused me was greater than the love that I could give him. I truly thought it was impossible to forgive, and love someone who did such awful things to me. Boy—did Satan want to confuse me. There came a time when I needed to flush out the lies and believe in my heart that nothing is impossible with God. We have God’s love as a perfect example of how we are supposed to love our enemies. Our love is not perfect love like God’s love for us, but the more we grow in our relationship with God, the easier it is to gain God-like qualities; loving our enemies being one of them. It hit me one day; God loves my enemy so much. Everyone God loves, I want to love to (this being the whole world). I had to learn a healthy way to love this enemy. God showed me exactly how to handle this enemy in my life. I started loving him by praying for him. I was able to forgive and ask for forgiveness for not loving this enemy. I may never have the chance to tell my enemy all about the love I have for him, but I pray that he will make the most of his chances to feel all of the love God has especially for him.
Has reading this brought to mind any enemies you may have? What about the ones you are not loving? Loving our enemies truly is something God wants and expects us to do. Matthew 5:44 says, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Also, 1 John 4:19-21 says, “We love because He first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” God doesn’t want us destroyed by the cancer of hatred; He wants us to grasp onto His strength and power to love those who hurt us the most.
It wasn’t until I started loving my enemy by praying for him that I realized that person no longer has any power over me. 1 Corinthians 13:13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” This reminds us there is nothing greater than God’s love. And He will empower us to love even those who hurt us.
Let’s Pray:
Lord, thank You for Your perfect love. I ask that You bring to mind the people in our life who have hurt us. I pray that You help us to be strong in You and ask for Your help to forgive these people and learn to love them as You want us to love them. Love is an amazing gift. There is freedom in Your love. We trust that when we finally love those who hurt us, we can feel Your love more freely through us. I pray these things in your precious name, Amen.
