Dealing with enemies

The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? …When my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall…Though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me…Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior…

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD while in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD (Psalm 27:1-7, 9, 13-14).

Enemies.  We all have them.  There are terrorists who want to make us cower in fear.  There are spies who want to steal our country’s secrets.  There are corrupt politicians who write laws that favor their cronies.  There are activist judges who change our laws from the bench. 

But not all enemies are so far away.  We’ve all experienced mean teachers and unstable bosses.  We’ve all been the victim of gossip.  There are bullies at school and bullies on the Internet. We get emails from strangers who want to scam us out of money.  We have to deal with sales reps who will promise you the moon in order to close a deal. 

Sadly, some enemies live right in your own home.  Adults who are verbally or physically abusive.  Children who fight with each other and treat their parents with disrespect.  Some family members tell lies and steal from others who are living under the same roof.

But the worst enemies of all are those who attack our faith in Jesus.  They file lawsuits in protest of the Christian message; they don’t want to see manger scenes or crosses in public, they want references to God removed from the pledge of allegiance, all government buildings and schools, and from the money in our wallets.  Others write books that insult Jesus by claiming that He was just a man like us, a wise man who said good things but never performed any miracles and is still buried in a grave somewhere.  Some make movies about stories from the Bible, but they change the truth to make it more entertaining.  And there are plenty of college professors teaching our youth that religion is just a crutch for people that are unable to think for themselves.

King David had enemies too.  Israel was surrounded by kings who frequently brought war to its borders.  Within his own family, David had a son who tried to seize the throne for himself through revolution.  There were times when David didn’t know who he could trust—it seemed like he was surrounded by enemies that were hungry to pull him down.

How do you deal with enemies?  How do you escape the fear, and sleep peacefully at night?  How do you get out of the bed each morning and start the day with a positive attitude?  For the answer, let’s look to David’s words recorded in Psalm 27.

The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? …When my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall…Though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.  David is confident that God will oppose his enemies and cause their plans to fail.  God is the Creator of the universe; no one has the power to successfully oppose Him.  David knew that God had a plan for his life, just as God has plans for each of us.  Paul writes in Ephesians chapter two, we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  David was confident that his enemies would not stop him from carrying out the work he was born to do.

David speaks of God as my light.  So much of the time, our world is murky and dark.  It can be hard to separate truth from lies, or see the right thing to do in a confusing situation.  Thankfully, God sent His Son Jesus to show us the light of truth.  Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness (John 8:12).  When Jesus speaks, His words push back the darkness and replace confusion with clarity.  When we spend time with the Bible, it becomes easier to see what God would have us do.

David also described God as my salvation.  Salvation refers to the act of being saved from life-threatening danger.  One example is that of a lifeguard at the beach or the swimming pool.  When someone is in danger of drowning, the lifeguard risks his own life to keep them alive.  So it is with God.  He sent Jesus to be our lifeguard.  We were drowning in sin, until He gave up His life on the cross to breathe new life into each of us. 

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.  David wants comfort during his time of trouble, and he knows just where to go—God’s holy Temple.  God’s house of worship is a sanctuary, a refuge from the problems of life.  In a world where ugliness seems to be everywhere, David wants to see the beauty of the Lord.  David describes the Church as a place of safety, built on a rock so high that his enemies cannot attack him there.

That rock, of course, is Christ.  Jesus said, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock (Matthew 7:24-26).  I’m reminded of an old painting; it shows a rock sticking out of stormy water.  There is a cross on the top of the rock, and people are clinging to it desperately.  Although the sky is dark and the wind is howling, these people are safe; so long as they embrace the cross on the rock, they will not drown in sin.

At his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.  In gratitude for sanctuary, David promises to offer sacrifices with shouts of joy.  What does God want in the way of sacrifice?  In Psalm 51, David gives us the answer: You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. David will throw away his pride and confess his sins to God; after he is forgiven and free of guilt, he will be filled with great joy.  Then David will honor God’s name with music—music that is not about David, but gives glory to God for all the wonderful things He has done.

Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me…Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior.  David switches gears from future hope to his present circumstances.  God has helped him in the past, which gives him the courage to ask for help again with the problems he’s experiencing now.  Life doesn’t always go smoothly for us, and sometimes God seems far away.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  Consider these words from Hebrews chapter 12: Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.  God disciplines us like parents discipline children—His goal is to shape us into better people.  Paul writes, suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Romans 5:3-5).  Times of hardship can draw us closer to God; suffering strips away worthless distractions so that we focus solely on the important things in life.  Much of the time we ignore God and His teachings because we want to do things our way; this forces God to turn our attention back to Him by whatever means are necessary.  Sometimes He drives us to our knees so we are more inclined to pray; sometimes He lays us in a hospital bed so that we spend all our waking moments looking up towards heaven.

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD while in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.  David ends on a note of confidence—he will not die rejected by God, but will experience heaven’s mercy while still alive.  And so his advice to us is this—wait for the Lord; do not panic or get impatient.  Peter says that The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  God is not slow to answer our prayers; it just seems that way because we are fearful and impatient.  So trust in the Lord’s mercy; seek Him in His Church, confess your sins, praise His name, and ask for His help.  The Lord will see you through; He will give you faith, patience, endurance and love—something your enemies won’t be able to understand.  By trusting in the Lord, you are protected from the hurts they try to cause you.  You can remain calm, kind and loving, forgiving them as Jesus forgave His tormentors from the cross.  By living this way, you are a mirror for God’s love to shine on these enemies and show them the darkness in their hearts. Remember what Jesus said: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27).  It’s possible to do this, if you cling to Jesus for help and protection.