“Speak blessing, not cursing, over those who reject and persecute you.”
Romans 12:14 TPT
I’m laying in bed this morning and I roll over and pull up my Bible app to look at the “verse of the day”. I don’t do this everyday, but today it’s cold outside the covers, so I chose to lay a little longer. The verse was actually Romans 12:12, but I decided to go back and read from the beginning. When I got to verse 14, I stopped. It’s like God said, “here’s what you NEED to hear.” Everything in our lives has a purpose and this moment is no different. I sure didn’t want to hear it though.
You see, yesterday someone was nasty to me. They love to be mean to me (IMO), say hurtful things and feel like they have power and control over me. After the interaction, I told someone that I hated them. I said it over and over and over. It felt so good, if I am being honest. Now, my sweet husband always has the right thing to say and he wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t already know, but he said as we were folding the mountain of laundry that was spilled out across my bed like my thoughts and feelings, “You don’t have to like them Ashlee, but hate hurts YOU more than them.”
Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know all that. But how do we handle the people that persecute us, that in our opinions are just evil…the ones that look for ways to be mean to us every chance they get.
Sigh.
Speak blessing over them.
Listen, it makes me cringe as I type those words. I’m not gonna lie. I don’t think they deserve a blessing. It’s the last thing I want to do. God knows my heart, so whether I say it or not, He knows.
I can’t forget that the words of Romans 12:14 has just as much power as those of John 3:16 and Psalm 23.
The person that persecutes me is loved by God just as much as I am. Jesus does on the cross for them, too.
I’ll bless them, Lord. I know it’s not going to be easy. You know it won’t be easy for me, either. But it’s not for them…it’s because I desire to be closer and closer to You with each passing day. I refuse to let the enemy have the victory in this small area of my life, as it will grow to become a huge tree hindering my spiritual sight to the Holy Spirit.
Blessing those that persecute you sounds so easy when you haven’t experienced it…BUT…if Jesus died for the men that ripped the flesh right off His body, I can certainly pray a blessing over someone who enjoys ripping into me.
Maybe you know how I’m feeling…let’s pray for one another. Y’all know me, I can be a little too transparent at times…but I always share what God wants me to share and pray that it helps someone right where they are. Blessing and love on this Monday…even to those that don’t give it in return.
