Proverbs 16:7 “When a man’s ways please the LORD, he
maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him”
This is a pretty
amazing verse if you think about it, and it’s one of those verses that is
simple and powerful.
Ok…so…everybody is a creation from God. Duh. Some of
His creation has chosen to be rebellious, and some of his creation has chosen
to submit to him…that would be us Christians. Now God has EVERYBODY'S hearts in his hand so He can control
and change people and their lives and feelings if He needs to, or wants
to. Right here Solomon is saying
that if we are doing the things that please God, and we have a lifestyle like
that, then God will reward us by turning the people who dis-like us and don’t
get along with us, into people who maybe still don’t like us, but they get
along with us and they aren’t out to get us anymore. I know that God can do
that when He wants to, but it’s also human nature. If somebody is always being nice to you, and doing the right
thing in their lives, and is just a pleasant, happy, Godly person to
everybody…it’s REALLY HARD to hate them.
This verse showed me two things. First off that if we obey God He will
make more people be at peace with us…like us. Secondly, I took it also to say that if we have a good
attitude toward others and are kind to others (those are ‘ways’ that please the
Lord) God will make people who don’t get along with us, get along with us. Sorry if that was confusing!:/ So my question to everybody reading
this is, are you pleasing God in all areas of your life? Are you spending your money
wisely? How about your time? Are your friends, people God would
approve of? What about the way you
dress, talk, act…your outwardly appearance? Your education?
Are you pleasing God in ALL your ways, so that He can make the tough
people in your life be at peace
with you. I’m sorry if this didn’t
really flow, but I really stood out when I was reading.
Hey this is really good!!!! You're so right...if we please God, He will bless us by making our "enemies" to get along with us!!! wow...this devotional is making me think of the sermon last night by Dr. Schaap. He's been doing a series lately on our purpose in life. Last night he talked about our purpose in life through rejection. Now I know it sounds weird how your devotional is bringing this to mind, but he talked about how we were to handle it in the manner God did...in a manner that would be pleasing to Him. Just like you said in your devotional that all our ways were to please Him. You're so right....we should put a magnifying glass on our life and see what it is that we might be doing that does not please Him and fix it!!! When I thought of the sermon though...in that way...how we are to handle it in a manner pleasing to Him...it makes me cringe!! How are we supposed to handle rejection and betrayal in a pleasing way...there is NOTHING pleasing about that!!!! Dr. Schaap used the illustration last night by having one of his men on the platform throw song books at him...he would catch them and throw them back. He went to explain that when someone rejects you they are revealing what is in their heart. He went on to say that people would rather hurt you to get what they want than to give to you to help you. They're revealing a heart full of fear, intimidation, and lust. When we take their rejection and betrayal (the song books) and throw it back then we are revealing the same thing in our own hearts. Then he had his man catch the song books that he threw at him and drop them on the ground...not throwing it back...once Dr. Schaap was out of song books he looked at the pile and walked away. Once he had thrown him everything he had he didn't have anything else to throw back...there was no fight because he wasn't given one. He went on to say that we should receive that rejection and betrayal because those people who give it have no chance of growing till they deal with what is in their heart...it can't be dealt with till it is revealed...so we are to take it to help them!!! If we throw back at them then they may never learn the lesson they need to learn. That was a killer....rejection and betrayal are one of the hardest things to deal with...then I thought of God. He was betrayed by Judas...He chose Judas as His disciple knowing he would betray Him. He chose Judas for that purpose! Peter rejected Jesus. But then Peter never could have reached his potential until Someone big enough in His Christianity could deal with his rejection in order for him to deal with the problems in his heart. OUCH!!!! that sermon stepped ALL over my toes!!!!! And this devotional just backed it up....even though it's not pleasing to us to deal with the rejection it IS pleasing to God...just one more area among the many in my life to inspect to make sure it is pleasing to Him!!!
ReplyDeleteThat illustration is REALLY good...and REALLY true!! The verse that comes to mind with that particular way of pleasing God is 'heaping coals upon their head.' You're right...if you don't give a fight, then they can't give one back!!! I know I saw somethings under the 'magnifying glass' that I need to change!!! I can't really add anything else onto your comment...that was really good!!!
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