Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV

Bitterness, wrath, anger, fighting and slandering our enemies comes easy, doesn’t it? Plotting evil against them may even get to be a favorite pastime. But, I have learned something. Those things never work out well for me. They always lead to more.

Being kind to someone who has wronged me, or someone I love, is hard to do, but it’s what God calls us to do. God tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5:44. But, that’s not easy to do. It’s downright difficult. When someone has done something to cause me grief, I want to reciprocate. I want to let them know how it feels. I want to show them that they messed with the wrong person this time. But then, I have to ask myself if I am going to live according to what I want or what God wants for me?

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has good plans for us. Romans 8:28 tells us that God works all things to the good for those that love Him and are called according to His purpose. This tells me that I can count on Him to work all things for my good, if I love Him and live the life He has called me to live. It doesn’t say that I just automatically get this because I call myself a Christian. It says that I have to love Him. This means true love. It means putting Him first and others second. This means that I have to live the life He has called me to live. I must be obedient, I must trust in Him and I must do what He calls me to do.

Several years ago, I was in two horrific trials at one time. I felt as though I was being tossed about in a stormy sea. But, praise God, it drew me into a closer relationship with Him. It caused me to take notice of some things.

I noticed that when I began to do things my way, God would let go. Bad things would start to happen because I was doing things according to my flesh. I was allowing bitterness and anger to drive my actions and my behavior. I was not loving my enemy nor was I praying for those who were persecuting me.

I also noticed that when I did begin to pray for God to remove bitterness and anger from my heart, God took control again and things began to work out for my good. I noticed that when I prayed for my enemies and asked God to soften their hearts, remove their pride, and bring them to salvation, God took care of everything I needed. He protected me from harm and He provided for me.

I will admit that there were days when I would give it all over to God and then try to take it back again. I finally realized that God is not a fan of Tug of War. It may have been a fun game when we were kids, but He doesn’t play that. I realized that anytime I would try to take control again, He would let go and I would fall flat on my rear.

The problem was that bitterness, anger, strife, slandering, and plotting evil against my enemies made me feel really good, but it didn’t work out for me. Every time I did this, my enemy won a battle.

Praise God, I finally got it through my thick head that I was going to have to do it His way if I wanted to win the war. And, that’s what I did. I prayed for God to soften my heart. I prayed for God to remove bitterness and anger from me. I prayed for God to have mercy on my enemies. I prayed for His forgiveness for where I had failed Him and for His forgiveness against my enemies.

The results were amazing. All I had to do then, was sit back and watch God work. And boy, did He work. I will admit that He does work in mysterious ways at times and that His ways are above our ways. There were things that He allowed to happen that I still don’t understand. Some of them seemed disastrous, but He worked it all out for my good.

My friend, if you are resistant to doing it God’s way, how is that working out for you? If you are crying out to Him when you are in need and giving it all to Him only to take it back when things settle down, is that working? I did that many times and it never worked out well for me.

Turn to Him today, give whatever you are going through over to Him. Then give Him your heart and let Him make it what He wants it to be. You will be amazed at how that will work out for you.

Have a great day!