Pickles & Praise

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 NIV

Now verse 5 of that chapter …

“You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.”

This is the next line of that verse we spoke about last post… I mentioned that God has been working through with me.

Isn’t that something to be thankful for? God is with us and will teach us and help us in our times of need. Even when we don’t know we’re in a time of need, he is there to catch us. A lesson that I had to learn and sometimes re-learn and re-learn and re … (you get it.) is “who is my enemy here?”

Who are our enemies? Some of you may be thinking of a person… Someone specific in your life that you have deemed as an enemy. My friend, lets take a moment to pause… Take that person out of your mind. No matter what they did to you, or how much pain they’ve caused, or may still be causing, pause. We’re going to take it to The Word. That’s right … The Living Word … The Holy Bible … The Instruction Manual

The Bibles says “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

I have been there. I have been where you are and made the faces of those who have hurt me, lied to me, or abandoned me the face that I said was my enemy. The sad truth is that the faces that we see in our mind are also the victims here. I know friend … that is a hard pill to swallow but there is such grace in releasing that person and praying against the authority or influence over them to release them too… So I have homework for you today. We’re going to do this together …

-Write down 3 people you’re going to pray for and make sure one of them is someone you had in your enemy category. Lets commit to praying for them every day over the next month and watch how God encounters them and changes your heart toward them.

Can you do that with me?