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Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his website www.aneelaranha.com.

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When Your Enemies Try To Take You Down; God Will Raise You Up

July 26, 2022 • Aneel Aranha • Episode 73

0:00 | 4:00

We all have enemies. They can make it their life’s purpose to take us down, and it can get pretty scary. However, we need not worry because not only do we have God’s assurance of protection, we have his assurance of vindication as well.

073: When Your Enemies Try To Take You Down; God Will Raise You Up

Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today we are going to talk about how when our enemies try to take us down, God will raise us up.

We all have enemies. These are people who we might have offended, deliberately or otherwise; or people who are jealous of our success; or people who resent us for no reason other than it is in their nature to resent others. Regardless of the reason, they can make it their life’s purpose to take us down, and it can get pretty scary. However, we need not worry because not only do we have God’s assurance of protection, we have his assurance of vindication as well.

Speaking for God, the prophet Isaiah said, “No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you” (Isaiah 54:17). This is a promise that holds true if *we* hold true—in faith—not retaliating against our enemies, but showing them as much love as we possibly can.

If we stoop down to the level of our enemies, we lose the overflow of blessings that God promises us. What will help us not to take offense is realizing that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

Our struggle is not against people. People are not our enemies; Satan is. But he uses people, even Christians, to fulfill his strategy of sowing discord, distrust, and disunity. (And see how well it is working!) Therefore, instead of getting upset with people and playing right into his hands, let us get upset with Satan instead and take *him” down. God has given us the authority to do this, even as he assures us yet again that nothing will prevail against us. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you” (Luke 10:19).

We take Satan down by walking in obedience to God’s word and sowing love, not hate. When we do this, it doesn’t matter what our enemies throw at us; we have an even more wonderful promise that God makes to us. “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (Psalms 23:5). God says he will lay a banquet before us and serve us himself while our enemies watch in dismay and wonder why their plans and plots to destroy us didn’t succeed.

Now, isn’t that worth something! So, “do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. You “be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone” and God will raise you up! (Romans 12:17,19)

May the Spirit be with you.