Have an enemy? Here’s how God’s Word can help you even with that

By Dean Collins

“A person who is actively opposed to someone or something.” According to an online dictionary, that is the definition of an enemy. I looked at several definitions of the word enemy, and while there are various nuances to each, this one captures the general idea. And God’s Word tells us how to deal with such a person in our lives.

Wiser than enemies

Psalm 119 describes many benefits of reading, knowing, following, and meditating on God’s Word. The psalmist goes back and forth between his use of word, testimonies, judgments, statutes, commandments, and precepts. I won’t get technical about these distinctions. I will save that for the scholars who are better at that sort of thing. But for today we can see that the psalmist was intent on praising what God has told us about himself and about how we should live.

In verse 98 of this wonderful psalm we read, “Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.” This is good news, but the benefits require some steps on our part.

1) We must become familiar with God’s Word. Familiarity requires time and repeated effort. There is no one and done.

2) Our familiarity leads to absorbing God’s Word, which allows us to access the wisdom that accompanies it.

3) It’s one thing to read it and quote it, but this must lead to application in daily life. Just knowing information doesn’t guarantee you know what to do with it. We must apply the information to our lives to receive the benefits. I can repeat Solomon’s directive that I am to trust the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. But to get the benefits of the wise king’s advice, I must see and show this trust instead of simply depending on my past experience when I get into a tough situation.

There are many times when we rely on past experiences to inform behaviors—everything from buttoning a shirt to making our coffee. We act without thinking, and that’s good. God’s Word doesn’t inform me in such things. But how we treat each other, make decisions, manage our finances, deal with loss, spend our time, and so much more should involve God’s Word and the wisdom that comes from above through prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

This verse tells us that having God’s Word integrated into our lives makes us wiser than our enemies. We will still have them, but we have a God-sized advantage in dealing with them. Enemies may be a nuisance and they may bring any number of interruptions and challenges, but we know from numerous passages in God’s Word that our enemies and the enemy do not have the final word. Jesus has settled the outcomes of all things. However, along life’s journey we can depend upon the wisdom of God who makes us wiser than the opposition if we only will embrace it, trust it, and rely upon God’s promises.

Love for enemies

Proverbs adds additional information about dealing with our enemies. Since God’s wisdom trumps the enemies’ strategies, we will often see our enemies fail. When that happens the wise king tells us how to respond. We are not to gloat when our opposition loses. We are also not to be anxious in their presence or desire their cool stuff. Our enemies will often have a collection of the world’s material offerings. But as we see their treasure, we must keep in mind that those things don’t actually last. The enemies, their strategies, their interruptions, and their stockpiles all will be destroyed.

Jesus told us to love our enemies. When we obey, we are expressing the love and grace of God who wants everyone to experience his overwhelming and extravagant love and forgiveness.

Our best plan to deal with opposition, and really everything life has for us, is never to turn aside from God’s Word. Keep it close and use it daily. God’s Word keeps us from stumbling and always directs our pathway.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭119:98, 102, 105‬; Proverbs‬ ‭24:17-20 ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Hassan Pasha on Unsplash

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