Favor for my enemies...

My first ever SuperBowl party in America yesterday....
I was rooting for the SeaHawks, the unpopular choice at our gathering...

I couldn't help but notice all the flags that went up against this team, while other foils by the Steelers went either unnoticed or un-challenged. Do you ever feel like the game has been fixed to your disadvantage? (Whether real or imagined...) What do you do about it? Lash out? Get even?

David's prayer in Psalm 35 shows his strategy- he went to God. He asked God to judge his enemies;

"Fight my enemies, LORD!
Attack my attackers!
Shield me and help me.
Aim your spear at everyone who hunts me down,
but promise to save me.

Let all who want to kill me be disappointed and disgraced.
Chase away and confuse all who plan to harm me.
Send your angel after them and let them be like straw in the wind"(1-5)

David praised God in the midst of persecution -- real stuff, like, his father-in-law chasing after him with a gang of thugs hunting him down with every intention set to kill; not because he had stolen from them, but because he was jealous of God's favor resting on David.

Even in David's great escapes he gives the glory back to God.

"I will celebrate and be joyful BECAUSE YOU, LORD, have saved me.
Every bone in my body will shout:
'No one is like the LORD!'
You protect the helpless from those in power;
you save the poor and needy from those who hurt them.

Liars accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
They repay evil for good,
and I feel all alone.
When they were sick,
I wore sackcloth and went without food.
I truly prayed for them,
as I would for a friend or a relative.
I was in sorrow and mourned, as I would for my mother." (9-14)

Can you say that? It is one thing to visit sick family and friends, but what about the people you would consider your enemies? What about the person who lied behind your back? Will you still help them when they are in need? What about your neighbor who does everything the opposite of you. What are you doing for them? We are to bless our enemies, not curse them. Who in your life is the hardest to love? If you want God to bless you, try blessing someone else who is hard to love first....then you might begin to understand how God's grace truly operates. (Definition of 'Grace' = unmerited favor- hmm.....)