“What grace it requires when we are misunderstood yet handle it correctly, or when we are judged unkindly yet receive it in holy sweetness! Nothing tests our character as a Christian more than having something evil said about us. This kind of grinding test is what exposes whether we are solid gold or siimply gold-plated metal. If we could only see the blessings that lie hidden in our trials, we would say like David, when Shimei cursed him, “Let him curse…it may be that the Lord will repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today” 2 Samuel 16:11-12
This was taken from The Streams In The Desert devotional, a writing for today October 6th. In it A. B. Simpson writes “Some Christians are easily turned away from the greatness of their life’s calling by pursuing instead their own grievances and enemies. They ultimately turn their lives into one petty whirlwind of warfare. It reminds me of trying to deal with a hornet’s nest. You may be able to disperse the hornets, but you will probably be terribly stung and receive nothing for your pain, for even their honey has no value.”
I have experienced this in my own life, I have gotten angry when injustice arrived on my doorstep and took a very long time recovering from fret, anger and upset. Some years ago there was someone in my life who was so unfair, verbally abusive and frankly just an old fashioned bully. It felt like I was continuously fretting over something that she did or said. I was reacting to the sting of her words daily and every time I had to see her I would dread the meeting. Unfortunatley at the time she was in my life not by my choice, but I had to endure her haughty behavior. The sting of an incident became heightened everytime I would think about the injustice over and over again. Just like that hornet’s nest mentioned in today’s devotional, I was stung countless times by my own inability to let go. I was stung repeatedly by thinking about what had happened and allowing myself to be angry.
Never in a million years would I think that someday I would consider this encounter the greatest blessing of my life. She made me so angry, and I would spend hours and hours fretting over what she had said, how unfair life was and asking myself over and over why…”why Lord, I have been good to this woman and now how does she repay me? She repays me by saying untruths about me.” I sounded just like those whining people in the old testament always saying long speeches to the Lord and saying “Why.” Meanwhile, I truly believe that I suffered so much by being angry and trying to restle with the injustice in my mind and not being able to just let it go. I don’t think that this person ever thought a minute about what she had said or even cared. She was like this to everyone in her life and still is to this day.
“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Hebrews 12:3
One day the Lord showed me an image, He showed me a little girl sitting on a bench barefoot with tattered clothes and looking so sad. Then He gave me an image of myself wearing a party dress with lots of beautiful gifts at my feet. He said “love her”, it is only by God’s grace that you have the spiritual gifts and feel the love of God.” Suddenly I understood that when someone hurts me, lashes out, says mean and unkind things about me, as hard as it is, I must remember that if they were blessed they wouldn’t be doing this. Instead God asks that we pray for them, bless them and most of all trust that God will always fight our battles.
Much later and after much praying for months I began to witness that my relationships with others were improving. I had always taken things so personally when anyone behaved badly. Suddenly, I started seeing that their behavior had little or nothing to do with me, and I started detaching from the emotions and started focussing on letting go. I knew that if it had not been for that woman who had brought me so much pain that I would never have been healed from taking things so personally. The truth is that her exaggerated behavior gave me little or no choice but to restle with the profile of the behavior and not the person. I recovered from thinking that someone was deliberately trying to hurt me, and saw that people who are hurting are full of hurt. They need prayer, not condemnation and certainly not more anger directed at them.
It seems that everytime I have prayed for someone who has been hurtful a wonderful thing happens. While the Lord is dealing with that person, He allows me to understand the reasons behind their behavior, He gives me His sweet balm of compassion.
“And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”Ephesians 4:32
I love that reminder, how in the world could I have forgotten what I used to be like before I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior? After all, hadn’t I been bitter and angry and often irritable from the hurt of the world and hadn’t I been saved by the grace of God? I did nothing to deserve these spirtitual gifts, nor am I smart enough to understand the word of God without God’s grace. Jesus died for me and He died for that person that irritates us, is rude, difficult and irritable. The only difference is that they have not met the Savior, Jesus Christ yet. They are just like that child sitting on a bench barefoot with tattered clothes lacking in the very grace that they hunger for, which would provide all the wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit.
“Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also forgive.”
Colossians 3:13
One of the hindrances I have faced in my life has been my inability to discern bad behavior from a personal attack. This lack of wisdom has caused me great suffering and unnecessary pain. The woman who was dreadful, well she doesn’t seem dreadful to me today, she seems hurt and hungry for God. I pray for her because she has been the greatest blessing of my life. She freed me from taking hurt from a hurting person personally. I pray that she receive Jesus as her personal Savior and that she is comforted in her hurt the way I was comforted. Why did God allow someone so hurtful in my life, I know the why…so that I might be healed and so that my prayer might be heard and then she will be healed.
“If we could only see the blessings that lie hidden in our trials, we would say like David, when Shimei cursed him, “Let him curse…it may be that the Lord will repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today”
2 Samuel 16:11-12
