January 20 | Giving a Curse

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

We’ve all had someone be intentionally cruel or unkind to us. They stole something and said we did it, ridiculed our clumsiness in gym class, or misrepresented us at work and grabbed the promotion we were hoping to get. To use Peter’s language, they “cursed” us. When that happens, our natural response is to really, really want bad things to happen to them. To curse someone is to want their undoing, and it doesn’t have to be taught.

To see just how natural it is to curse our enemies, look at Psalm 109:6-13, written by David when adversaries relentlessly pursued him. David asks God to kill his adversaries, making their wives widows and children orphans with no one to be kind to them. But David also moves on from vengeful words to confess his heart is wounded—and he is trusting God to save him. He puts his situation in God’s hands.

We can do this today. Instead of falling into bitterness and hatred toward those who hurt us, we hand them over to God instead. Jesus tells us to bless those who curse us and pray for those who hurt us. That’s what he did in the last moments of his life. Mocked and reviled by religious leaders, soldiers, and even the thieves being crucified with him, Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

Forgiveness and giving a blessing can sometimes be complicated. If you’re unsure how to forgive or bless in a specific situation, pray and ask God into the process and seek godly counsel. Email us at btw@adabible.org. We would love to encourage and assist you.

2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.

January is BIBLE READING. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.