We’ve all experienced it. The frustration of being misunderstood. A person makes a decision about us. They rationalize it in their minds. And it becomes truth to them and to anyone they’re able to rally into their corner of belief.
It destroys families.
It destroys friendships.
It destroys peace.
It’s the enemy’s playground of dissension and division. And if we’re honest, we’ve likely found ourselves on both ends of the madness. Or somewhere in the messy middle.
So what does God say about it? And what can we count on in the midst of it in our own lives when we find ourselves as the recipients?
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thy hand to do it. Proverbs 3:27
While this is surely true for the person doing the misunderstanding, it’s also true for us as the recipients.
First, I believe our identity rests in God alone. And while I could quote dozens of scripture passages pointing to this one life-changing truth, God spoke to me about all of this in a different way this morning than I expected.
Let’s focus on the first part of the key verse for this devotion —
Withhold not good from them to whom it is due. So who are them? Well — I believe in the spirit of loving, God is suggesting that them is all of us. Because through Jesus, love and loving others through doing good to them is without cost. Completely free. A gift.
Therefore, no good behavior requirement is necessary to be the recipient of such love. And if we are in Jesus, then we are in his love.
So how can we apply this truth to our own lives today?
Presently, I’m somewhat in the middle of a situation like this. And I’m tempted often to feel annoyed at this person – even to seek out their faults in my mind in order to make myself feel justified. But the truth is, God asks more of me than that always. Why? Because I’m in him, and he is in me. And how else will the world (or this person) see him clearly through me if I don’t seek to love them like he does? Particularly when it’s most difficult to do so.
And so, I ask myself this question –
What’s worth fighting for here?
My pride … or his promise to reveal himself through me with the same kind of love he offers me?
I think that love legacy is what I’d rather hold fiercly to. Because it’s the imprint I want to have left in this world when I’m gone from it. I’m guessing you would too.
So whatever side of this issue you find yourself on today, may I encourage you to look beyond the feelings and injustices that likely weigh heavily on your heart – and instead — to a love which transcends every bitter thought or fragile emotion?
May I encourage you to simply be willing to become a conduit of that amazing life-altering love? It changes everything if we let it.
Might he be asking you and me to be part of that change? I believe so.
God, thank you for your love that breaks apart every scheme of the enemy in our relationships. Help us to be more proactive in choosing to be givers and receivers of that beautiful life-changing love. May others recognize us by it through your grace and goodness, amen.
