Chris Bailey III - How Do You Process Being Wronged?

There may be no better way to determine how "right" we are than by accessing how we feel when we are wronged.  Most of the time the Christian life is measured in wins and losses.  Like how many prayers answered and goals accomplished.  But using that metric can be faulty because on that standard, even God can be judged a failure.  The One Who seeks to save all only gathering a remnant (REVELATION 7:4).  For the Son of God Who has all power in His hand to heal a whole city not doing many might works (MATTHEW 13:58).  Fruitfulness and faithfulness are two different things and only one of them is our responsibility.  In case you don't know, that one is faithfulness.  But in being faithful, what we define as fruitful can be misleading.  Being faithful can lead to some tough situations where we don't just come out getting the short end of the stick, but we get hit with the stick!

This morning I was dropped off our daughter, Faith, at school.  It was two minutes to first bell and I jumped out of the car, handed her her raincoat, kissed her on the cheek, and told her I loved her.  As she jogged to the front door of the building, she opened it and out of the left, a boy or a man in a white coat or jacket (couldn't tell which) ran into the door in front of her.  He will henceforth be known as Flash Gordon.  Immediately I was taken aback.  That was rude, dangerous, and whatever else a father thinks when he sees a guy go into a door in front of his daughter.  Sooo....How do you process being wronged?  I'm not just asking how do you react or respond.  I'm talking about how do you feel; what goes through your mind before you even say or do anything?  I believe the answer lies in even before that before.

Go back to instant replay because something actually happened to me after Faith got out of the car but before Flash Gordon shot through the door in front of her.  Everyday at 8am we get a verse-of-the-day from one of our Bible apps on our phone.  It was in that gap of space that EZEKIEL 36:26-27 flashed first on my screen...

26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do [them].

The only part that I could see in my text preview was "26 A new heart also will I give you..."  So to put the timeline all together, Faith is heading towards the door, the verse came on the phone, Flash Gordon flashes, and there I am having just prayed for this new heart and now I'm ready to flash on somebody!  It was here that it was revealed that the Truth made it to my head and not to my heart.  And it is in the new heart and only in the new heart that we can process wrong as God processes wrong.

Processing wrong as God does, does not ignore wrong.  That's injustice.  Processing wrong as God does, does not say it never happened.  That's lying.  Processing wrong as God does requires God in the form of the new heart.  The new heart does not just come from God to us (verse 26 - "A new heart also will I give you..."), but the new heart is God in us (verse 27 - "And I will put My spirit within you...").  It is only by God in us that we can experience wrong and acknowledge wrong, yet not do wrong even when we know we've done right. 

[MATHEW 27:14 KJV] 14 And [Jesus] answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.

It is only by God in us that we can be wronged, but rather than feeling wronged, we feel bad for those who wronged us. 

[LUKE 23:34 KJV] 34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted His raiment, and cast lots.

It is only by God in us that we can be wronged and respond by doing right.

ROMANS 12:21 KJV] 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Mercy!  We see how far we are from God by seeing how close we are to flashing.  Note that because exactly how far we are from God is how far we are from forgiving others.  And how far we are from forgiving others is actually how far we are from accepting God's forgiveness for ourselves (MATTHEW 6:12). The new heart is not about grinding it out, biting our tongue, smiling on the outside while burning on the inside.  The new heart is no heartburn because there is no flame.  Forgiveness becomes the impulse rather than fury!

Brothers and sisters, cry out to God for the new heart for it is literally Him in us!  It is by His Spirit that He has promised to do these things and not by our own.  It is by His Presence & Power in us personally, and not in group or body organizationally, that He has promised to cause each who believes to walk in His statutes.  You can walk with me but you can't walk for me.  God wants to walk in me!  God wants to walk in you!  By the blood of Jesus, claim now the gift of pardon AND God's presence in us which alone is our power...
even to process wrong.