Psalm 70

“Make haste, O God, to deliver me! Make haste to help me, O Lord! Let them be ashamed and confounded who seek my life; let them be turned back and confused who desire my hurt. Let them be turned back because of their shame, who say, ‘Aha, aha!’ Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified!’ But I am poor and needy; make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay.” Psalm 70

Over the past few days (Psalms 66-68), we learned that God, even in the Old Testament, has never rejected people of any nationality who earnestly seek Him.  God’s grace is colorblind.  That being said, those who reject the Lord, even for so-called “friendly” reasons, are considered His enemies until they repent.

“Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity (warfare) with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

So, all human conflict is, in essence, a spiritual struggle between worldliness and godliness.  We struggle within ourselves over obedience to the Lord and following our fleshly desires.  We struggle with other believers who are themselves struggling within. And we struggle with non-believers who are governed completely by their flesh with no acknowledgment to the Lord.  Through it all, we believers must continue to seek the Lord, knowing He alone has the power to save us. Sometimes God defeats worldly-influenced enemies who are attacking us, and other times He defeats the worldliness within those people so that they become believers.  Once non-believers follow the Lord, they cease to be enemies and become brothers and sisters in Messiah.  Consider the story of Naaman, the Syrian military leader who was healed of his leprosy when he obeyed God’s Word through Elisha.

“And he (Naaman) returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, ‘Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.’ But Elisha said, ‘As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.’ And Naaman urged Elisha to take it, but he refused. So Naaman said, ‘Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord. Yet in this thing may the Lord pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord please pardon your servant in this thing.’ Then he (Elisha) said to him (Naaman), “Go in peace.” So he (Naaman) departed from Elisha a short distance.” 2 Kings 5:15-19

When you pray for deliverance from worldly enemies who may literally seek you harm, remember to pray that God not simply destroy them but that He defeats the worldliness within them, as He has done in you.  Lose an enemy, gain a brother!

**All verses are NKJV