Healing Through God's Word in Bad Relationships

Psalms 56:4

⁴ In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? (NIV)

No one is exempt from difficult people and hard relationships. Even good relationships can quickly turn bad when we least expect.  Depending on their power and intent to do harm, it will often feel as if we are helpless to their schemes, but our help comes from the Lord. Though the Lord may extend grace to those attacking us for a time, if they do not turn from what they are doing, the Lord’s protection is certain. But we must know how to apply this protection. One thing we must do is praise the Word. Healing and protection in bad relationships come from the Word of God.

To praise means to make shine. We have been discussing the necessity to follow the Word in our behavior, attitude, and words. Following the Word, however, doesn’t feel right to us in those moments. What seems right to our natural self is retaliation, self-protection, or escaping the situation in ungodly ways. To help ourselves in these moments, we must bring back into our minds that we are the ambassadors of Christ. Our highest calling is to help the people around us see God. We do this by following the Word of God; then, when the results become apparent, we are not shy about giving God glory. 

Many allude to God, but unless our idea of God aligns with who He says He is, we will misrepresent God. We often see it when people give thanks to God for giving them success in doing things God would never want them to do. We see it in pop culture where people participate and glorify things and a lifestyle that God warns us about, but then, when they win an award, they give thanks to God. But this is a misrepresentation of God. To know that we are glorifying God as He describes Himself, we must have a desire not only to glorify God, but also to do so specifically by making the Word shine in our lives. 

Set aside the pain, suffering, and frustration you are experiencing and remember that God has put you in this position to reveal God as He is. Go into the Word of God, follow its direction in every way, but also share the Scriptures God has given to you. As Christ responded to Satan’s temptation with Scripture, so we can also use Scripture in our language to make it shine. We don’t use the Scripture in a hateful way, but in a loving way. We use Scripture to refine our thoughts, words, and attitudes, enabling us to respond in a Christlike way when people are trying to hurt us. 

If we lose sight of the Word, it is too easy to fall into the devil’s trap. The Bible teaches us to write the Word on the tablets of our hearts, helping us to move and react in a Christlike way that glorifies God. The Word gives us the power of self-discipline while at the same time painting a true portrait of our Lord for all to see. 

Prayer: Lord, give me a hunger for Your Word that it may keep me in You in all my responses and reactions in difficult situations with people. Amen.