Friends,

Do you have enemies? Most of my life I would have considered such a question absurd. I mean sure there have probably been a few people who hate my laugh, or find my personality grating. But that would have been the extent of it for the majority of my life. The last decade has been different though.

Thomas Aquinas defined loving someone as to will their good. Sadly, a whole group of people actively did just the opposite. I am not being dramatic, and honestly having enemies requires an odd season of adjustment — it takes a minute for it to sink in. Fortunately, in many ways the experience has made me a better person. I can testify to how profoundly important it is to pray for your enemies. I can also praise God for His protection in the last decade like never before. He has hid me and mine in the cleft of the rock. He has gone before and behind in such loving ways, unexpectedly turning what others meant for evil into blessing beyond what I would ask or think.

In Psalm 23 we read that God prepared a table for David in the presence of his enemies. But wasn’t David a man after God’s own heart? Why would a man after God’s own heart have enemies? Of course, David was a sinner, but Jesus wasn’t. Yet Jesus had enemies despite there being no one on earth He wronged in any way.

You may be someone who has never had an enemy. Or maybe you have taken a bold stand that has earned you a plethora of enemies. Or maybe you are like me, and having enemies at all has come as a surprise. No matter where you stand, I hope it’s a comfort to know that God often sets a table of blessing right there in front of your enemies.

The most important thing — whether you are in green pastures or feeling the heat from haters — is to know your Shepherd. May we cling to Him through the joys of life and not wait until we find ourselves in need. May we consistently recognize the truth each and every day: The Lord is my shepherd.

Blessings,

Kristie