Isaiah 54:17 gives us a wonderful promise
from God. It says, “‘No weapon that is formed
against you will succeed; and every tongue
that rises against you in judgment you will
condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security,
and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their
vindication from Me,’ says the Lord” (AMP).
No one likes to be judged or criticized by
others, and this verse clearly says “every
tongue that rises against you in judgment you
will condemn.” The question is, how do we
show those who judge and criticize us unjustly
that they are wrong? Do we defend ourselves? Do we get mad at them and say equally bad
things about them, trying to get back at them?
No, none of that works and it’s not what this
scripture is talking about.
Jesus is our ultimate example of how we
should live, and the Bible says in 1 Peter 2:23
(NLT), “He did not retaliate when he was
insulted, nor threaten revenge when he
suffered. He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.” When someone comes against us, we’re often tempted to
defend ourselves and say something like,
“You’re not going to talk to me like that!” Or “If
you think you’re going to treat me that way,
then I’m going to do this to you!”
But the way we show those who judge and
criticize us that they are wrong is by behaving
in a godly way instead of letting what the
enemy — the devil — did through them cause
us to act the same way.
It’s Spiritual Warfare
As believers in Jesus Christ, we are in a war, but
it’s not a war against human beings. Ephesians
6:12 (AMP) says, “We are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil
rulers and authorities of the unseen world,
against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
I realize that talking about the devil is
unpleasant, and many people don’t want to do
it. I attended church for years and, although I
knew the devil was real, I didn’t understand
that he could be a real problem in my life.
The truth is that all of the evil in this world — all
of the bad things that happen – the source of it
all is our enemy, the devil. It’s so important for
us to really get this if we want to effectively
fight and get victory in the spiritual warfare we
face.
The Way It Works…
Sometimes we take a verse, like Isaiah 54:17,
and focus on the part that we like or want to
do and expect to reap the benefits of the
whole thing. For example, we like saying, “No
weapon formed against me will prosper, and
everyone who says wrong things about me will be proven wrong!” But we need to take
the rest of the verse to heart to. It says, “This
[peace, righteousness, security, triumph over
opposition] is the heritage of the servants of
the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of
the Lord is reproduced] …” (AMPC).
The heritage we have in Christ — His peace,
righteousness, security and triumph over
opposition — is experienced by those who
follow the example of “the ideal Servant of the
Lord,” which is Jesus Christ. This means that
true faith in Christ produces a lifestyle that represents His heart … His character and His
behavior.
When you have a real relationship with Jesus,
His Spirit lives in you and He changes you little
by little, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians
3:18). The exciting thing is, you cannot be
born again and never change because Christ is
living in you and you won’t be comfortable with an ungodly lifestyle as you grow closer to
Him.
The Best Retaliation
So, practically speaking, what does it mean to
act like Jesus in these situations? The first thing
we need to do when someone comes against
us is pray for them. They need to have an
understanding of how dangerous is it to treat
others this way. Matthew 7:2 (NLT) says, “You will be treated as you treat others. The
standard you use in judging is the standard by
which you will be judged.”
We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and trust
Him to give us the wisdom and strength to do
what He would do. Remember the greatest
commandment God gives us: “‘Love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, all
your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself'” (Luke 10:27 NLT).
I want to encourage you to be a wholehearted
believer in Christ who lives for Him in every
area of your life! Make the decision to be
serious about your commitment to Him and
pray, “Lord, I give you every part of my life —
there’s nothing that is closed off to You. Do what You want to do in me and make me
everything You’ve created me to be.”
Loving God with all of your heart, soul, mind
and strength is the secret to certain victory in
spiritual warfare. In Christ, no weapon that’s
formed against you will prosper!
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