Defeating Enimies

“Lord, I turn my hope to You. My God I trust in You. Do not let me be disgraced; do not let my enemies gloat over me. Not one person who waits for You will be disgraced; though who act treacherously without cause will be disgraced.” (Psalm 25:1-3 HCSB).

Of the 150 Psalms, nearly half (72) speak about enemies. The translation above is the Holeman Christian Standard Version. I like the way it translates verse 1, but I prefer the NIV in verse 2: “In you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.”

Generally when we read verses such as these, we picture human adversaries, but to do so is to miss the bigger picture. Certainly our enemies could be some individual who opposes us, but let us not forget that an enemy is anything that opposes us or the plan of God for us. Temptations are a very real enemy. So is Satan, the great enemy of our soul. The desires of our fallen human nature, the lust of our eyes, and pride are also enemies. Money and material possessions can become an enemy if they become to us more important than our pursuit of God. Don’t limit yourself only to some human opponent when you encounter the word “enemy” in the Psalms.

Here is the great truth of these early verses: when our hope and trust are on God, no enemy–human, demonic or temptation–can hope to prevail! We win! I weary of Christians who run around looking like someone just ran over their puppy, or as if they’ve been sucking lemons! As believers we don’t have to lick our wounds, we simply offer them up to the Great Physician and let Him care for them! Let us never forget that “No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame.” (25:3a NIV).

What enemy has you cowering in fear today? A deceitful, ambitious co-worker? An ornery boss? Some secret burden of guilt you carry? The sure promise of God is that when our hope is placed solely upon Him, vindication will eventually come. Take heart. Someone once put it wisely when he or she penned, “When men speak ill of Thee, live so no one will believe them.” Good counsel.