Loving those who hurt us

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Have you been hurt by someone close to you? Have you felt the sting of betrayal from a close friend? Have you heard the lies whispered behind your back or felt the blows of venom & hate as you were attacked by those who only thought they knew the whole story?

I dare say there isn’t a person who hasn’t at some point & time experienced pain from betrayal, gossip, & lies. In the midst of that pain it is natural to want to lash out & retaliate for the wounds that have been made.

Normal human self-preservation drives us to want to hurt those who hurt us or speak up to defend ourselves when doing so would hurt others.

But Jesus in His Amazing Grace & Love gave us an example of how we are to treat those who hurl accusations, betray, mock, slander & hurt us.

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34

I imagine Jesus up on the cross as

·      soldiers laughed & mocked him & fought over His clothes

·      the criminal who hung next to Him insulted Him

·      the crowd stood by watching & not doing anything to help

and then instead of becoming angry & yelling back at them or wanting to hurt them, He cried out begging God to forgive them. He loved His Father so much that He chose to do God’s Will over His own comfort.

Could you do that? Could I do that?

When those around you hurt you, do you pray for them instead of returning the anger with more anger?

In Matthew 4:43-48 Jesus tells us we are to love our enemies.

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44,45a

Jesus tells us we are to love and pray for those who hurt us.

You may be thinking, “but you have no idea how much I have been hurt, there is no way I could pray for the person who has hurt me.”

Believe me, I know it’s hard; I’ve been there. And when I’ve been there this is what I’ve done:

·      I’ve asked God to soften my heart for them. I’ve asked Him to reveal one way I can pray for them.

·      I’ve prayed Psalm 19:14 “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

·      I’ve stayed focused on Christ and His Love for me on the cross.

When I’ve kept my eyes & heart focused on the Cross, my heart & my mouth have stayed in line with God’s Will.

My prayer is that you too will stay focused on the Cross & Jesus’ example of how to love those who hurt you.

Continuing the Joy Dare #1120 - #1132:

• beautiful day at the zoo
• overcoming my fear of heights with my daughter
• hike in the woods with friends
• popcorn, icees & cotton candy
• oreos on the way home from the zoo = happy kids
• Life is Good! God is Good!
• working in the yard as a family
• kids playing in the sprinkler
• playing baseball as a family
• frozen yogurt to cool off on a warm afternoon
• grilled bratwurst after baseball practice
• all 4 of us snuggled up in bed watching The Lion King
• sleeping in

In His Calm,
Mary