HOW TO OVERCOME THE EVIL INTENDED FOR YOU

Text: (Read Genesis 37-50) & (Matthew 5:43-44) [NASB] & (Romans 12:17-21) [NIV] “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Background Comments: Have you ever been hurt or attacked so bad that you wanted to grab a rock and fling it with all your strength at your offender?

I remember a few years back when I had one of those incidents. Of all places it happened at church. The name of the person or the details of the incident doesn’t really matter but the impact it had on me was one that wound me deeply. To say the least, I had a difficult time getting over it. My self esteem, confidence, and leadership were attacked. It was so bad that it even affected my marriage.

Thank God for a godly mature woman who discerned the evil that was intended for us before it happened. It was like God had already prepared her for what would attack us.

Gayla had warned me ahead of time, and had pleaded with me to not validate and elevate this person into a influential ministry position. As all good husbands do, I disregarded her counsel. Valuable lesson number one, listen to your wife!

Thank God that the truth was found out. The evil intended for us could have broken my marriage, ruined my testimony and finished my ministry. For almost 18 months I carried this wound, and sadly to say, often nurtured it. I had those “rock flinging” thoughts and even wished the worst for my attacker!

God works in mysterious ways. I remember when God laid it on my heart to share an interactive sermon on forgiveness where I had positioned two crosses on either side of the stage. I then instructed the audience to write the name of an offender on a 3X5 card, to come up and nail it to the cross. Which represented that you were trusting Jesus with that person and offense and that you were letting it go in an act of forgiveness. After sharing that message, God did a work in me. I forgave my offender, really forgave them! How did I know that I had forgiven them? Because I would see them in town and no longer “pick up” a stone. I would see them and not be overwhelmed with anger towards them. God had freed me to be able once again to pray for them and bless them.

I know that my story resonates with you. Too many of us have been hurt unintentionally, or in my case, intentionally by others. Maybe you are still carrying around a “handful of rocks” waiting to run into the person who has offended you so that you can through one directly at them.

It’s time to drop the rocks! It’s time to forgive! It’s time to do good to those who have hurt you! It’s time to live at peace with everyone, if it is at all possible.

Please understand me. This is not minimizing the pain or excusing the misconduct nor condoning someone else's behavior. It’s simply recognizing the offender, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins - just as Christ did for us.

Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. If you find it difficult to feel forgiving toward someone who has hurt you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell this person that you would like to heal your relationship. Lend a helping hand. Send them a gift. Smile at them. Often you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings. I pray that God would give you the courage you need and success to your efforts!

Open: What is the dumbest thing you have done in anger?

Explore: What did Jesus teach is to be our response when evil is aimed at us? (Read Matthew 5:43-45a)

Get It: How did Jesus model “the way” we are to respond to the evil aimed at us. (Read Luke 23:32-27 & Ephesians 4:32) How does understanding (Ephesians 4:32) help in forgiving someone who has hurt you?

Apply: What is Jesus saying to you about your response to someone who has hurt you deeply? (Read Matthew 6:12-13) If you are going to have a conversation with someone who has hurt you in the past, what are some precautions you should take? What steps do you need to take now to deal with your hurt?

Quoted from "Life Application Bible", Illumina and Serendipity Bible