obedience | Daily Encouragement

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:20-21, NIV)

What may be regarded by the common person as foolishness is tactical brilliance in the eyes of God.

Today’s scripture is a blueprint for how the Christian disciple is to engage his or her adversary. The benefit of this counterintuitive approach is two-fold: (1) It confounds the enemy beyond words, and; (2) It assures the positive notice of our heavenly father.

To act in this way toward our enemies requires faith in God, and courage. Do not be ashamed or afraid to stand firm and fast wherever it is that God has directed. – Luther

Tagged enemies, obedience, the book of Proverbs

April 19

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“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” (Luke 23: 55-56, NIV)

“The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.’^“Take a guard,’ Pilate answered. ‘Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” (Matthew 27: 62-66, NIV)

On the Saturday after Good Friday, life continued.

The women who were disciples of Jesus prepared to do the next necessary thing as best they could before ceasing all work in obedience to God’s commandment. Meanwhile, the opponents of Jesus were also making preparations to thwart any “deceptions” by the crucified Lord’s followers. Neither friend nor foe expected what was to occur in God’s plan, in God’s time, in God’s way on Sunday morning.

As current-day disciples of Jesus, we should aspire to be like the women: Doing all that we can, while we can, for the next necessary thing before us; but always giving God’s word and God’s will priority — even if God commands that we stop, rest, and wait in the midst of the darkest day of our lives; even as the enemies of God plot against us.

In hindsight, we see that God used the women’s faithfulness in ways that tied together all of Good Friday’s “loose ends,” while utterly frustrating the designs of His enemies. Looking ahead, we must also be diligent, faithful, and obedient if we are to be — as the women were on Resurrection Sunday: First witnesses to the incomparable faithfulness and power of God.

We can be like that! – Luther

Reminder: Daily Encouragement will be on break tomorrow. Have a great day in the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, and the fact that as He is, so shall we — because He said it, and has the power to make it so! Lord willing, see you on Monday!