In The Hands Of God

1 Peter 2:21 “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”Everyone goes through troubling times where we are having issues with our health, relationships, money, or work. Many times, we wonder why we have to suffer when others appear to be doing well and enjoying life. Sometimes we may want to take action in our own hands and do what we feel is best to give us temporary enjoyment; however, God calls us to do good in all things, even if it means suffering.

When other people lash out at us and do things to hurt us, we may or may not know the reason. We may feel hurt or angry and want to retaliate in any way we can to make them feel the same way we do. We may want to teach them a lesson and get back at them for what they said or did. However, Jesus held his tongue in even the worst of times and received God’s blessing for his suffering.

1 Peter 2:23 “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.”

It is not always easy to hold our tongues when we feel like we need to say something to someone. The person may be saying things to hurt us. They may be lashing out in anger. They may be upset and taking things out on us; however, our response should always be a loving one. Sometimes we need to be firm in what we say but it should still be in love.

There are times when we feel we have been verbally abused by someone. We aren’t sure exactly what we did but they are taking it out on us. They come home angry. They go to bed upset. They wake up mad. Nothing we do can be right for them. We say something and they get mad. We say nothing and they get mad. There is just no way to please them.

Matthew 5:44 “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

Those are the times we need to be still and pray. We need to allow God to work. We need to leave it in the hands of God. We need to let them vent as they do and understand there is something deeper inside bothering them and they will talk when they are ready to. However, we may never know why they treat us that way. We may never know why we have to suffer because they are angry.

The Bible doesn’t tell us to forget about those who are angry. The Bible doesn’t tell us to turn away from those who treat us like we don’t want to be treated. The Bible doesn’t tell us to treat others as they treat us. The Bible clearly says to treat people like we want to be treated.

Luke 6:31 “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”

It’s so easy to just retaliate back to someone who is hurting you; however, as Christians we are to not do what is easy. We are to do as Jesus would do. We are to do as we want to be treated. We don’t know why someone acts like they do so we are to just love others when we are threatened or when we are suffering. We need to hold our tongues and ask God to make our actions His actions.

When we learn to forgive others who are treating us wrong and live as God wants us to we can lead by example and let others see Jesus in us. When we leave it in the hands of God rather than taking matters into our own hands, we will become stronger. When we follow Jesus’ example and God’s word, we can make a difference.