The response to the hostile, should not be one of hostility. The soul of the tortured lashes out, that it would not be wounded again. Many writhe in deep wound, internal pain without ceasing. The strike is protection, and the foul word their covering. Do not return anger for anger, for the mind of the injured cannot hear loud correction, as pain cannot be cured by the whip. A kind word penetrates armor, and a gentle spirit turns away wrath. The morning song dispels the night, and draws forth the day from those who do not rest. So gentle it may not be heard, but its presence known, marking for the restless hope of new. Be as this small song, pleasant in the darkness of those who cannot find rest for pain. Do not think it is weak for its grace, for many a fevered soul is lead to My cross through its kind whisper. Your way is not the way of the sword, but the Gospel of love that draws the largest of beasts, soothing the wounds that make them so.
Isaiah 50:4-6 (ESV) – The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.
Bottom Line: The hostility in the world is escalating, and those who are deeply wounded are finding it more and more acceptable to show their woundedness through hostile channels toward their fellow man. One look at social media and you can see who they are; they freely announce their pain to the world through anger, profanity, and raw emotion that comes from a wounded heart. These same people spit in His face, and with compassion and soft words, He carried their cross anyway. We have a tough assignment. As followers of a Lord who loved sinners through their pain, we are called to the same.
