DIVIDE AND CONQUER! The enemy rips apart our country in unprecedented ways. Even more painfully, he divides Christians and families. How God’s heart must ache as He watches us quarrel over masks, vaccines, in-house church services, and the list continues. Relationships suffer, grow estranged, and break apart.

Someone dear died to me recently after a long, drawn-out illness. Many years ago, this relational death began with a spark of resentment, a critical spirit, then jealousy, entitlement, a dose of self-righteousness, hurt feelings, self-pity, and anger. Finally, it settled into a deep grave of bitterness that continues to emit fumes of past injuries and insults. With volcanic pressure, the vitriol of mean, ugly words from the pit hurt, harm, crush, and silence. Accusations decades-old breed in maggot-infested nests of hate to shut me up. No forgiveness, no confession of wrong-doing, just acidic words at every opportunity. 

The recent part comes with my decision to let it die, step into the Son shine, and trust God to do what I cannot do. I allow myself to admit and enter the pain without retaliating with spiteful thoughts, explanations, or taking responsibility for another’s dysfunction. The ache tempts me to fight back in this nightmare of hurt, but words and music filter through the oppressive darkness, “The battle belongs to the LORD… When your enemy presses in hard, do not fear, The battle belongs to the Lord. Take courage, my friend, your redemption is near. The battle belongs to the Lord. And we sing glory, honor, power, and strength to the Lord!” ^{_{(w/ Collins Jamie Sue / Owens Jamie)}}

He is the LORD of Hosts, the LORD of heaven’s armies, and He asks me to trust Him with this. I invite Him to enter my pain. He comes, sits down beside me on the cold stones of earthly realities, and we weep together. He knows my imperfections, my sins, my stupidity on so many occasions that deserve this rejection. Yet, His absolute perfection was and continues to meet with the same, only worse. 

As the object of ridicule—despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering, acquainted with grief, He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and took our punishment. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth… Although He had done no violence and had not spoken deceitfully, He submitted Himself to death, and bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels (Isa 53). He took the pain into Himself to comfort us as One who knows.

I cry out to Him to deliver me from this evil against me that evokes the evil within me. He tells me to love my enemies, do good to them who hate me, bless them that curse me, and pray for them, which despitefully use me (Luk 6: 27–28). He tells me I live in an evil world with false accusers and despisers of those who do good. He tells me they hated Him, and they will also hate me. Those who hated and rejected Him the most were His own people, His own flesh and blood. 

He turns to me and says, “I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you (Isa 46:3-4). 

Oh LORD, You are my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? (Psa 127:3). Suddenly the Light shines, and I see the Accuser raise his gavel to silence and crush the life out of me with the legalistic code. Yet, I rise in confidence through Christ before God, not that I am competent in myself, or claim anything for myself, but my confidence comes from God. He makes me competent—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2Co 3:5-6).

The enemy slithers back into the darkness, away from the brilliance of the Holy Spirit. The Light reveals that the Accuser accuses and the Comforter comforts. I need not listen to the Accuser even if he masquerades as an angel of light in sanctimonious robes of self-righteousness. The Son of God sets me free, and I am free, indeed. I am liberated to love, forgive, and pray for my enemies. I am empowered to walk away from those who try to tear me to pieces and not look back. I bow before Him and bless His name, His holy, beautiful, and powerful name!

PSALM 27:1-14 of David