I was thinking the other day of a battle I won simply because I didn’t fight it.
More than once, I had been sorely tempted to wade into the fray on my own behalf. After all, in my thinking, I had been badly treated. Why shouldn’t I feel free to point it out or do something about it?
Every time I got to that point, the Lord arrested me. If my life belongs to him, then so do all my battles. When I get involved, I never know how much of my cause is really just, and how much is my own injured pride or self-interest.
And then there’s King Jehoshaphat. He was the guy who came up with the bright idea of sending his worship team out to do battle instead of his army. And as a result, he won a battle just because he never actually fought it.
If someone has treated you wrongly, you have two choices. Either get even or forgive. When I forgive, I hand the situation and the person over to the Lord. The God who forgave me requires me to do the same to others.
So I release it to him. I acknowledge that my refusal to forgive sets me up as judge and jury when I have no right to be.
This has two incredible effects. One is that the load of anger and bitterness gradually begins to lift. I become ever more grateful for the gift of forgiveness I received, and the hurt others did to me begins to lose its sting as the Spirit starts to move within me. It may take a while, but healing comes.
And the other effect is that God goes to work on my behalf. He can do a much more effective job of dealing with people than I can. And he does so with a justice that expresses his mercy — he brings people face to face with the consequences of their sin in order to deliver them from it.
All this can take time, and calls for additional gifts of patience and hope. It takes time for hurts to heal, and more time the deeper they are. And it takes time for God to move. But be sure that he will. Sooner or later, wrong actions reap their consequences.
And what do we do in the meantime about those wrongs?
Nothing.
I have one asterisk to add. If you know the individual personally and are going to be in regular contact with them, the ideal solution is to follow Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 18 to try to resolve the problem. But often that option is not open to us.
Or maybe God just calls us to leave it with him. It’s not worth pursuing every last injustice. And sometimes it’s just not possible.
Learn a lesson from King Jehoshaphat. Send your praise and worship out to do battle for you.
And then wait and see what God does.
CONSIDER PARTNERING WITH DAVID & ELAINE CAMPBELL IN HELPING TO SUSTAIN THEIR ACTIVE MINISTRY.
AWAKENING MINISTRIES // FOUNDATION of FAITH Project
Foundation of Faith Project is strengthening generations in faith and bringing beautiful changes to the communities around them. Through teaching, mentoring and coaching, many are finding out who they are and who they are destined to be. They are bringing more to their world. David Campbell is the key leader in this initiative and you can support him financially directly through Awakening Ministries.
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