The Hawk

Published: March 20, 2022, midnight

b'Who is my enemy? I feel like anyone who hurts me in some way is an enemy in that moment. I know I get hurt a lot, so I get lots of opportunities to pray for my enemies!\\nHow can I do this? Asking God for wisdom in how to pray is step number one. Each of my enemies has a different personality and different needs. Even when I don\\u2019t know what they need, I can ask God to bless them anyway (Romans 8:26-27). Only God, who made that person, fully understands why they are treating me in such a mean way. There is a saying, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Hurt people, hurt people.\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Most of the time when someone hurts me, it\\u2019s because they\\u2019ve been hurt. And I may not be the cause of their hurt. They could be lashing out about something that happened days, weeks, or even years ago that still hurts them.\\nAnother way I can pray for my enemy is to think about how I feel when I\\u2019m hurt and someone comforts me. Then I ask God to comfort that person, either in the same way I would want to be comforted or in a way that meets their specific needs. I can even ask God to help me comfort them if that\\u2019s what He is inviting me to do.\\nIt\\u2019s also important to share with God when we\\u2019ve been hurt and tell Him how we\\u2019re feeling. He cares about our hurts, and He wants to heal us just as He wants to heal the person who hurt us. When I\\u2019m hurt, my first response is often anger. Feeling angry is NOT sin. Instead, the Bible tells me: \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Don\\u2019t sin by letting anger control you\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Ephesians 4:26). When I get angry and retaliate by hurting the person who hurt me, I am sinning. But when I get angry and make the decision to give my hurts over to Jesus and pray for my enemy, I am acting like Jesus.\\nJesus showed us this same forgiveness while He was on the cross, saying, \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153Father, forgive them, for they don\\u2019t know what they are doing\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d (Luke 23:34). Even while we were His enemies, Jesus made a way for us to be fully restored to relationship with God (Romans 5:10), and now He works in us, empowering us to forgive even our enemies. \\u2022 Sharon J. Morris\\n\\u2022 Who are you struggling to forgive right now? A friend? Family member? Teacher? Yourself? Consider spending some time sitting with Jesus in prayer, asking Him to heal you and the person who hurt you.\\n\\u2022 Navigating broken relationships can be complicated. If you aren\\u2019t sure what forgiveness looks like in a particular situation, who can you ask for guidance?\\n\\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153But I [Jesus] say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d Matthew 5:44 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nRom.6.1-Rom.6.12|Heb.2.14-Heb.2.18|Jas.4.7'