Many years ago when I was going through a situation, God gave me this
scripture. HE let me know that I was NOT
to be upset by the actions of ungodly, evil people!!!
Psalm 37:1-2 (NKJV)
37 Do not fret
because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like
the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
And as I told you in my last blog, God had given me a message to preach on this
very scripture. God spoke to me and helped
me to realize that although it sometimes looks like those who do wrong are
prospering, they are NOT!!! What I and
others see is from the outside, and what we think we see is certainly NOT the
whole picture!!!
GOD told me that if these evil doers did NOT turn from their wicked ways, their
end would come soon!!!
And then as I read verse 2, I could see this image in my mind of God cranking
up a big old “God-sized” lawn mower, and saying soon it will be time to CUT THE GRASS!!!
Psalm 37:2 (NKJV) For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
Many times folks make the mistake of treating God’s people ugly or with
contempt. They make themselves to be
enemies of God’s Kids!!! They do NOT
seem to understand that God IS OUR FATHER and that HE really means it when HE calls
us HIS CHILDREN!!! And like any good
father, HE takes up for HIS KIDS!!! So,
when people choose to be enemies of HIS KID’S, they are choosing to be GOD’S
ENEMIES!!!
These folks do NOT understand that OUR FATHER is patient and even though HE will
allow HIS KID’S to go through hard times because of others, HE WILL
NOT ALLOW INJUSTICE TO GO UNPUNISHED!!
Nahum 1:3 The Lord is
powerful, yet patient; he makes sure that the guilty are always punished…
In the NKJV, it refers to these people as the wicked!!!
Nahum 1:3 The Lord is slow to anger and great in power,
And will not at all acquit the wicked.
So, when the wicked don’t see GOD move immediately, they think they are getting
away with their evil. They do NOT
understand that God is patiently watching and waiting. And evidently they do NOT understand that GOD will stand up and fight for HIS CHILDREN-HE WILL DEFEND US against our enemies!!!
Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man
sows, that he will also reap.
Out in the world, you hear folks say, “What goes
around comes around!!! But it means the
same thing!!!!”
God also tells us that HE will make our enemies to be our footstools!!!
Psalm 110:1 (CEV)
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right side,
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.”
In Psalm 23, OUR FATHER speaks of the table
that HE will prepare for us while our enemies watch. I can just see ALL the food as the table is
set, and the guards that are standing by, so that no one can hurt us. Can you NOT picture our enemies looking on in
wonder and amazement, as they see that OUR FATHER is honoring us???
Psalm 23:5 (NCV)
5 You prepare a meal for me
in front of my enemies.
You pour oil of blessing on my head;
you fill my cup to overflowing.
What an awesome image that brings to
mind!!!! To be an honored guest of The
King!!!! To watch as the fatted calf is
killed and the feast prepared!!!
Psalm 23:5 (CEV)
5 You treat me to a feast,
while my enemies watch.
You honor me as your guest,
and you fill my cup
until it overflows.
Over and over again in HIS WORD, GOD tells us what will become of HIS ENEMIES,
as well as the enemies of HIS CHILDREN!!!
Nahum 1:2-7
(CEV)
2 The Lord God demands loyalty.
In his anger, he
takes revenge on his enemies.
3 The
Lord is powerful, yet patient;
he makes sure
that the guilty are always punished.
He can be seen
in storms and in whirlwinds;
clouds are the
dust from his feet.
4 At
the Lord’s command, oceans and rivers dry up.
Bashan, Mount
Carmel, and Lebanon wither, and their flowers fade.
5 At
the sight of the Lord, mountains and hills
tremble and melt;
the earth and
its people shudder and shake.
6 Who
can stand the heat of his furious anger?
It flashes out
like fire and shatters stones.
7 The
Lord is good.
He protects
those who trust him in times of trouble.
I would NOT want to make myself an enemy of The Lord God
Almighty!!!
What in the world could a person be thinking??? Why would anyone want to be an enemy of
God???
That’s it in a NUTSHELL!!!
They are NOT in their right minds; they are deceived!!! Because no one in his or her right mind would
want to be an enemy of THE ONE AND ONLY
LIVING GOD!!!
Here is the message that God gave HIS
Prophet, Nahum, to tell the Assyrians when they made themselves HIS enemies by
coming against HIS CHILDREN!!!
Nahum 1:2-10 (CEV)
2 The
Lord God demands loyalty.
In his anger, he
takes revenge on his enemies.
3 The
Lord is powerful, yet patient;
he makes sure
that the guilty are always punished.
He can be seen
in storms and in whirlwinds;
clouds are the
dust from his feet.
4 At
the Lord’s command, oceans and rivers dry up.
Bashan, Mount
Carmel, and Lebanon wither, and their flowers fade.
5 At
the sight of the Lord, mountains and hills
tremble and melt;
the earth and
its people shudder and shake.
6 Who
can stand the heat of his furious anger?
It flashes out
like fire and shatters stones.
7 The
Lord is good.
He protects
those who trust him in times of trouble.
8 But like a roaring flood,
the Lord
chases his enemies
into dark places
and destroys them.
9 So don’t plot against the Lord!
He wipes out his enemies,
and they never revive.
10 They are like drunkards
overcome by wine,
or like dry thornbushes
burning in a fire.
Do you see verse 9? Let’s read it in the
New Century Version!!!
Nahum 1:9 (NCV)
9 The Lord will completely destroy
anyone making plans against him.
Trouble will not come a second time.
God says in verse
9 of the NKJV, that this affliction will NOT rise up against us again!!!
“…affliction
shall not rise up the second time.”
And the CEV makes
it very plain!!!
9 So
don’t plot against the Lord!
He wipes out his enemies,
and they never revive.
This verse reminds
me of what Moses told the children of Israel
about Pharaoh and the Egyptians that were chasing after them-the ones that God
drowned in the Red Sea!!!
Exodus
14:13-14 (CEB)
13 But Moses
said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand your ground, and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today you will
never ever see again.
Now let’s look at Nahum 1:10. Do
you see what God says???
Nahum 1: 10 (CEV)
10 They are like drunkards overcome by
wine,
or like dry thornbushes burning in a fire.
The New Century Version says, “…they will be burned up quickly like
dry weeds.”
The New King
James Version words it a bit differently.
Nahum
1:10 (NKJV)
10 For
while tangled like thorns,
And while drunken
like drunkards,
They shall be
devoured like stubble fully dried.
What does verse 10 (KJV) mean? “They shall be devoured as stubble fully
dry.”
My dad is a farmer, so this is a common term to me. Let me explain!!! Butlet me start by asking you a question.
Have you ever seen a hay meadow after the hay has been cut and baled?? ALL
that is left is the dry stubble!!! And
truthfully, it isn’t good for anything!!
Do you know what a farmer does with the stubble???
He sets it on fire!!! He allows it to burn until it is totally
consumed by the fire-until it is
devoured-and there is nothing left!!!
And that is what God says that HE IS
GOING to do to HIS enemies!!!!
And one last thought!!!! This important for us to know while we are
waiting on OUR FATHER to show up and show out!!!!
God wants us to
pray for our enemies. He wants us to ask
for mercy for our enemies because HE SEES their end!!! HE wants us to forgive them for they really
do NOT understand what they are doing by coming against us!!!
I know this
because that is what HE has instructed me to do over and over again!!! And you know what? HE tells us to pray for them in HIS WORD!!!
Matthew
5:44 (NKJV)
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those
who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you
When we pray for our enemies, GOD will give them the opportunity to come to
know HIM!!! BUT IT IS THEIR CHOICE!!!
