“Bless my enemy?”
If I’m honest, that’s my first reaction when I read Jesus’ command to bless and love our enemies. To forgive someone who maliciously harmed us is challenging enough, but the Bible doesn’t stop there. The Lord tells us to bless our enemy.
“Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (Romans 12:14 NLT).
Why would our heavenly Father ask us to bless the ones who mistreat us?
First, blessing an enemy does not mean accepting or minimizing wrong behavior. Neither does it mean reconciling with or trusting the person who harmed us. So, what does it mean? Let’s start with the benefits of blessing others.
Benefits of Blessing Your Enemy
“Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good” (Romans 12:21 NLT).
Evil has the power to poison our thoughts and emotions and turn us into bitter people. If we let a mean person’s words and actions poison our own words and actions, haven’t we slid to their level? Maybe that’s how their fall began.
God’s way of conquering evil by doing good may sound counterintuitive. But His ways are always better than ours.
Forgiveness is the first step toward blessing the one who wronged us. When we forgive, we release the wrong and the wrong doer over to God, who promises to judge rightly (Romans 12:19). We surrender our desire to get even. We stop trying to change them or make them see our side. They are His responsibility.
Sometimes, forgiveness brings an immediate sense of freedom. Other times, hurt and anger continue to resurface. Blessing them lifts us above the fray of our emotions.
But won’t blessing them give them power over us?
Ironically, I think the opposite is true. When we bless the one who persecutes us, we rise above their actions and choose to live under Christ’s authority instead.
“One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And one who rules his spirit, than one who captures a city” (Proverbs 16:32 NASB).
Giving a blessing moves us from victim to victor. Self-control is strength. Refusing to repay evil with evil is evidence that God is at work in us. Blessing subdues evil and uproots any bitterness that has tried to take root in our hearts.
Ways to Honestly Bless
One way to bless our enemy is to pray for them.
We can all sincerely ask God to convict them of their sin and turn their hearts to Him. There is no greater blessing than to be reconciled to God.
And if they repent and walk with God, that can make our life easier too!
God rewards those who trust and obey Him. When Job prayed for his tormentors, God gave Job twice what he had before (Job 42:10).
The God who rewarded Job sees our obedience too. We can trust the Judge of the earth to do right.
Another way to bless our enemy is to treat them with the respect and dignity every human deserves.
God told the Israelites to return their brother’s stray ox or donkey (Deut. 22:1). If they found their enemy’s lost animal, they were to return it, too (Exod. 23:4).
In other words, don’t let someone else’s behavior change who you are. Don’t let their unkindness bring you down to their level. Continue to treat others as Christ would.
“Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves” (Proverbs 11:17 NIV).
When our emotions threaten to paralyze us and keep us from pursuing our deepest desire to please God, we don’t deny our woundedness or make excuses. We believe Jesus will reward our efforts and follow His lead.
If we do, then when Jesus returns, we’ll stand in awe as those who accused us of doing wrong give glory to God because our behavior reflected God’s goodness instead of falling to their level (1 Peter 2:12).
Instead of allowing someone else’s evil to make us bitter, what if we allowed God to use us to display His goodness.
We can’t change another person’s heart. Nor can we rewrite the past. But with God’s help, we can choose our response.
We can forgive. And yes, we can bless. Because we can leave the results in the hands of our bigger God.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, I want to honor You by trusting Your commands. Free me from the bitterness and pain caused by the wounds I’ve suffered. Grant those who sought my harm repentance and faith. Give them the desire to be right with You and to treat others as they would want to be treated.
Help me to respond to evil with good and trust You with the results.
Amen
When the Hurt Is Big, God Is Bigger
Learning to forgive and bless those who have hurt us takes practice. Some wounds cut deep, and the emotions they stir can resurface long after we’ve chosen to forgive.
That’s one reason I wrote Big Hurt, Bigger God: Finding Freedom Through Biblical Forgiveness. If you’re struggling with the pain of someone else’s actions, I hope this book will help you discover the freedom that comes when you entrust your hurt to a God who is bigger than it.
[Learn more about Big Hurt, Bigger God]
Blessing doesn’t make what happened to us right. It keeps what happened to us from determining who we become. #Forgiveness #ChristianLiving Share on XCelebrating a Big God,
Sometimes I link to these great sites:
#MondayLinkUp, #InstaEncouragements, #Let’sHaveCoffee, #SweetTea&Friends
I did a post a while ago https://www.gracefilledmoments.me/2026/08/11/the-view-from-the-drivers-seat-a-lesson-on-foot-washing-and-radical-forgiveness/
And your post resonated with me and reminded me of what I wrote.
What sticks with me about forgiveness is Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him. And yet he still knelt down and washed his feet.
Visiting today from Joanne’s.
Yes, and then He died for him the next day! Radical forgiveness for sure. Thanks, Paula.
Ps: Thank You so much for sharing this with Sweet Tea & Friends this month dear friend.
Such an important message Debbie and I especially loved the prayer you included. I think we often want to skip over the forgiving and blessing our enemies because it is hard. Thank you for the encouragement.
Thank you, Yvonne. It does go against our human nature, but falls in line with God’s divine nature.
Loving our enemies is a challenge. Your message is wise and inspiring and offers helpful strategies. Thank you, Debbie.
It is, Katherine. Seeing it from God’s perspective helps a lot.
I was meant to read your post. I often struggle with forgiving the ones who have hurt me. This line, “We can’t change another person’s heart. Nor can we rewrite the past. But with God’s help, we can choose our response”, touched me deep.
Thank you for sharing your HomePage with Life Captured.
All the best.