As much as we might like to think that God always sides with us against our enemies, Scripture cautions us against such overconfidence. Israel’s prophets often spoke of God using an enemy’s victory to punish the nation, to call Israel to repentance. In order to be truly for us, God sometimes needs to stand against our actions.
When we call upon God to help us, God may side with our enemy in order bring us to a new place of recognition and change. We may find ourselves both blessed and, like Jacob, limping. When we call on God to help us get rid of our enemies, God may do that by transforming those enemies into friends.
This message is an excerpt from “Expanding Our Definitions” by Julie A. Kanarr from the November 2, 2014, blog of the Women of the ELCA. Today we remember Teresa of Avila, teacher, renewer of the church, died 1582.
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