Week Thirteen-Day Four: End of Day

Let’s end today by adding a completely bizarre twist on our understanding of God’s wrath. Look at the following verses from Romans 12 and then read the surprise application. I think it will make sense when you see it. It’s awesome!

¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

“Leave room for God’s wrath,” Paul exhorts. We leave room for it because He will ultimately take care of all matters of justice. First of all, let’s acknowledge that there are matters of justice; sometimes our rights are violated! Sometimes we are mistreated – sometimes badly so. But – and here’s the awesome, completely bizarre twist – understanding God’s wrath allows us to love our enemies. Because we know that He will repay; because we know that He will address all wrongs and make them right, we can feed and give drink to our enemies.

Confident knowledge of His wrath releases our love. In fact, we may even get to the point where we long for our enemies to turn to God and be spared. We may long for them to escape His wrath because we know how terrible and how eternal it is. After all, we have escaped a similar fate for reason similar to what is driving our enemies there.

Armed with this knowledge, our love can flow.

How cool is that?!

1. Spend a moment rehearsing Isaiah 26:3.“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You.”
2. Now spend a moment rehearsing Ephesians 2:8-10.“⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” 
3. End your day by praying this: “Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping; that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep we may rest in peace.”
4. Lights out!