Wait on the Lord!

Do you ever have those times when you feel beaten down by people? It may be a Christian brother or sister who misunderstands you or judged you incorrectly for your words or actions. This can even happen in our families. There are times when our spouses, children and parents misunderstand or judge us.

Then there are those people we come in contact with who do not know the Lord and in this case nice as they are they are our enemies. If someone does not know the Lord he is an enemy of the Lord. Therefore he is an enemy to us. In Matthew 10 Jesus talks about the division among people with respect to those who do not know Him or believe in Him. He says in verse 36 that "a man's enemies will be those of his own household." When this happens it brings us great grief because we love them and we want them to know Christ and we want to have a good relationship with them.

Before I came to know the Lord I had a great relationship with my Mother and Step Dad. Then when I came to know the Lord things changed. Things changed because I had changed through the work of Christ in me. Therefore, our relationship became different. We had different values and goals. It was a very strained relationship. One that brought heartache to me even though I understood why. Many times they would misunderstand or judge me because of my words or actions.

In the Psalms we see David over and over dealing with his enemies. Yet, he always declared faith and trust in the Lord. In Psalm 27 as he is praying to the Lord about his enemies. He knows God is the strength of his life. In the middle of his problems he talks about singing and praying to the Lord and dwelling in the house of the Lord.
Even David is aware of the fact that his mother and father may forsake him but the Lord will take care of him. He speaks of how he would have lost heart unless he had believed that he would see the goodness of the Lord.

Sometimes it is discouraging when when people misunderstand or judge us. I Peter 4:12 tells us "do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you". We can expect trial and tribulation when we belong to Christ. Whether we are being misunderstood or judged by our fellow Christians or those outside of Christ we are to trust in the Lord, not in men, and He will strengthen us.

Spend some time reading Psalm 27 during those times you feel beaten down by people.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!