S = 4:26-27, 31-32 “Be angry and do
not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to
the devil… Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put
away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
O = In the context of this passage, the
way in which we deny the devil an opportunity is by dealing swiftly and
faithfully with our anger. The best way to stop an invasion is to keep the
enemy from establishing a beachhead in the first place. Unresolved anger
provides the devil with a beachhead from which he can expand his destructive
work in our lives. Paul is calling on the Ephesians to throw the invaders of
offense, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander out of our hearts into
the sea of forgiveness. It truly can be a Red Sea type of moment for us when we
can no longer be hurt by the actions or inactions of others in our past because
the sea of forgiveness has covered it all. The dividing and conquering work of
the enemy is healed and unity is built by my actively obeying God’s orders in verse
32. Kindness, and tenderhearted care for one another, goes a long way towards
binding up all our wounds and building trust relationships for the future.
Being the church requires this kind of active forgiveness.
A = Is there any area where I have
unresolved anger in my heart? Perhaps I don’t stir it up often, but maybe there
are areas I have fenced off and posted with a “Danger! Mines!” sign that need
to be reclaimed. Lord, have mercy! Have I deceived myself into believing that
my sins for which Christ died are somehow less heinous than what others have
done to me? Lord, have mercy! Have I
begun to demand grace for myself and law for others? Lord, have mercy! This
week I need to look for ways to actively forgive others, because I have been
forgiven much more than I deserve. I need to pound the enemy’s beachhead in the
lives of others with consistent acts of kindness, and by taking time to listen
to people’s story with a tender heart.
P = O Lord, may I become a fountain of
forgiveness this week…not because I am better than others, for I am not, but
because you have forgiven me and shown me mercy! Holy Spirit, may your presence
in my life produce fruit that tastes of you (Gal. 5:22-23) to others, rather
than leaving the bitter aftertaste of my own selfishness. May I not see other
people as irritating, or even as enemies, but as precious children whom you
dearly love. Enlarge my heart to better understand what it is that you have
done for me, so that I can share that same love with others this week…because
you deserve it! Amen.
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