“Give ear to my prayer, O God, and do not hide Yourself from my supplication. Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they bring down trouble upon me, and in wrath they hate me.” (vs1-3)
They hate me without a cause, as it was promised by the Lord Jesus Christ (Ps 55:1-11; John 15:18-25). Your love for God has put you on the opposite side against those who hate Him. Do you remember Lazarus? Scripture says, “Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus” (John 12:9-11). You are in warfare, because they hate Him whom you love, and you won't take sides with them against Jesus. They want you to party with them, in excess, so that you squander your soul, and they can't believe Jesus is worth it (1 Pet 4:3-6). They want you to join their side, and by your stance, you condemn them to hell, and they're angry, because they won't give up their sin.
People talk about God being unjust or the gospel being hard to understand, but the issue is really plain: People fight God because they don't want holiness and grace; they want sin, self-righteousness, and self-dominion. We stand opposed to this blindness, so we are called the same evils as they say about our Lord, and we become the target of their hate.. Peter said, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Pet 4:12-13). Bless His name. We endure, even as He did, and we conquer all.
Secondly, what makes betrayal painful is the fact that you put your trust in someone (Ps 55:12-21). He said, “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng”. The Lord knew Jesus would betray Him, and yet He loved him and was hurt by his serpent-like ways (Ps 109:4-5). People also told us they loved God and entered into our hearts, like Paul with Demas, only to see them turn away from the gospel and rail against you in the process. They got your heart because you believed them to be His children, and so it hurt all the more when they spoke against you, persecuted you, and proved that their smiles hid daggers and poison. He said, “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords”. You loved them like a brother, only to have them turn, attack the hand that helped them, and betray you with a kiss.
Do not think this is abnormal: betrayal and heartbreak are PAR for the course and normal Christianity. Many think that following Christ means ease and comfort continually, as if nothing pains us, as if we've got everything under control “through Jesus”. But, it isn't so. Men you've rejoiced with will be men who break your heart with grief and pain. Being HURT and needing help is normal. What will you do? How will you handle it? Don't quit the race because church members aren't what you thought, or even the spouse has turned against the God they once proclaimed. Keep pressing, using the trials to run to Jesus, and He will get you through it, even as the Father raised Him from the dead and gave Him NEW friends in place of the hypocrites He'd lose.
Lastly, I will trust in the Lord, the Psalmist says, even though man is untrustworthy (Ps 55:22-23). He says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You”. Don't think no one can be trusted because your friend is a fraud. You have the Faithful God, and the unfaithfulness of others makes us turn to and see the value of Jesus Christ. His promises can be trusted, His love doesn't change, and He helps those who are afflicted and hurt in His service!
He is not indifferent to your agonies, for He walked the same way and endured, earning grace for you. He is no stone-hearted god who couldn't care less about our tears, but He sticks out His chest and unveils His mighty arm, and saying in effect, “Come to me. Cast it upon Me. Put your trust in Me, and I will care for you all the way, faithfully. I'll be your Savior to the ends of time, into the timelessness of eternity”.
Don't let man's hatred harden you or compromise you. Don't quit believing, just believe God instead of men, and love people as one who has perfect refuge in Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment