If I bless a person rather than cursing them, can that change the outcome of a situation? Last week I had someone disagree with a sentence I had written, so they sent me an email cursing me with all kinds of names and attacking my heart motivation for writing such a sentence. Wow! All this cursing from just two or three words in a sentence that could have been said better, and which I was glad to change and did change. Name-calling, cursing and accusing are so prevalent today it can easily defile our spirits.
Responding in the Flesh
My human, carnal tendency is to judge and put down people when they cross me. If I look at the political discussions going on, they are full of accusation and name-calling. And it’s not just politics. The church I was saved in did its share of name-calling. They considered every other denomination unsaved, and we had various names for them: deceived, heretics, liberals and of course, they were all going to hell, and we didn’t mind letting them know that.
Name-calling absolutely defiles one’s spirit. I refuse to listen to political or religious debates as the animosity expressed can easily contaminate my spirit if I do not have my guard up. Now, if people are hungry for truth and they want an honest discussion of pros and cons on a topic, that is another thing. I am fine with that.
The Bible cautions me…
- “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so” (James 3:10).
- “Do not repay evil for evil, or curse for curse, but on the contrary, bless, knowing that to this you are called, so that you may receive a blessing” (1 Pet. 3:9).
Moving from people to situations: If I decide a situation is terrible, I am likely to get depressed and say, “Evil is so powerful and there is nothing I can do to stop it.” I even look for a verse which I believe tells me evil is supposed to get worse and worse until the coming of the Lord. (I could, of course, find Scriptures saying the opposite, that light is advancing (Isa. 9:7). Since I have a Baptist heritage, I know my Bible and can find verses to back up either side of many arguments!
Responding in the Spirit
Well, how about a better approach than speaking a curse over a person or a situation? How about I simply ask Jesus how He sees the person or the situation, tune to flow and speak or pray the blessing I sense from the Lord? That would sure take away my discouragement and grumpiness, and it would release people and events to the working of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to come and perform His miracle.
Another step, of course, is to honor the person I am with and engage them in a conversation. I did exactly that with a Mormon I was sitting next to on a plane and found out he did not believe any of the “awful” things I was taught that he believed. He believed Jesus was the Son of God (not a son of God), and salvation was through acceptance of Jesus’ blood alone to wash away our sin.
Well, that sure makes him my brother in faith, unless I choose to inform him that he is lying because I have read a book about what he believes, and it is not what he is telling me he believes. Just to let you know, I have stopped reading accusative books, and chosen to honor all people (2 Pet. 2:17). I have also stopped visiting accusative websites.
“Facts” are what I appear to see in the natural, but truth is the way things appear through the eyes of the Holy Spirit.
We recall Paul and Silas worshipping God after being unjustly thrown in prison. The result was that God moved in a mighty earthquake, freeing them, and they were then able to convert the prison guard (Acts 16:25-30). How’s that for turning the “facts” around and releasing God’s truth into a terrible situation!
As Stephen was being stoned, he released a blessing, rather than a curse: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:58-60). The result was that Paul was later moved upon by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the work God had ordained for him and he became the apostle to the Gentiles. Wow! A blessing instead of a curse can release a person into their God-ordained destiny.
I remember when several months of tension arose between my dad and me. I had embraced the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and he hadn’t. The Lord spoke to me to love and honor my dad just as he was and not try to change his beliefs. I said yes to the Lord, and just three days later, received a letter in the mail from Dad saying God had convicted him not to charge interest on the home loan he had given me years earlier. In addition, Dad was forgiving all interest paid and applying it toward the outstanding principal! Amazing that the Spirit could work that quickly and effectively over 1500 miles, just because I chose to love, honor and release, rather than judge, condemn and pressure.
My Confidence: God Works All Things Out
I can give thanks in everything as the Bible is clear that God works all things together for good to those called by Him (Rom. 8:28). So I can speak faith, hope, love and life because I have an inner confidence God is in control and looking out for me and redeeming every situation that I place in His hands to good. Every time I praise and thank Him for being God over a person or situation, I am placing that person or situation into God’s hands, thus opening the door for God’s blessings to flow. {eoa}
Mark Virkler, Ph.D., has authored more than 50 books in the areas of hearing God’s voice and spiritual growth. He is the founder of Communion With God Ministries and Christian Leadership University (cluonline.com), where the voice of God is at the center of every learning experience. Mark has taught on developing intimacy with God and spiritual healing for 30-plus years on six continents. The message has been translated into over 40 languages, and he has helped to establish more than 250 church-centered Bible schools around the world.
This article originally appeared at cwgministries.org.
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