Monday, February 25, 2008

Cease and Desist

Have you ever had someone who wronged you? Trashed you? Even harmed you?

I see the hands up, and mine is up too.

I am a member of the Bagdad Prayer Patrol. A dear sister put me onto it. They send daily updates and prayers to pray over the people - all of the people - in Bagdad. Good and evil.

Well the one today was based on Ps. 37:7-9. "Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself - it tends only to evildoing." (Amplified)

Now I know that there are some very serious offenses that take place on this earth. Maybe I should say that I really have no idea how hurtful some have been. I only know what I have been through.

But nevertheless, it's all painful, in many degrees.

But this Scripture hit me today. It was to pray for the evil going on in Bagdad, but little did the writer know that I needed to read those verses for myself.

God tells us to first of all rest.

Rest? When I want to rant and rave?

Yes, even lean upon Him.

But to not fret about those who seem to get ahead (and get away with) by doing wrong.

Whether it is doing physical harm to a person? Or stealing from them. Or saying cruel things.

We are to stop being angry about it and run away from wrath. I think wrath should be described as I'm-going-to-kill-you angry. Where you could kill in order to get back. (I'm not writing from jail. I am your normal? American woman with a regular life. But as we've seen from the news, it doesn't take just a terrorist to react in anger and do devastation.)

I'm not just talking about war, where there are real bullets.

I'm talking about when your mother-in-law says to a young friend, as you open the garage door, "Oh, just look at this mess." The young friend even knows better than to say those things to a person, even if it is true. Oooooo.

I'm talking about when your child says harsh things to you in their anger and frustration. Tears.

When a business partner does indescribable things to you and your family. Pain.

Anger.

Kill.

Maim.

But no.

My staying in anger, only tends to evildoing.

Yes, MY anger. Yeah, the other person should maybe be jailed, but we're talking about our own anger here.

So I am being transparent in front of you all. The issue isn't about what was done to us, but what we do with what was done to us.

It's to the cross daily. Dying to ourselves.

Leaning on Him.

Fretting not.

Ceasing.

And being still in Him.

©BL2008

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