The Ripple You’ll Never See

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 4

Stephen was being stoned to death. In his final moments, he didn't curse his killers. He prayed that God would not hold their sin against them. It was a prayer of extraordinary faith, and Stephen never lived to see the answer. One of the men watching that day was Paul, a fierce persecutor of Christians. But God was already at work. That moment, and the grace Stephen displayed in it, was part of a story much larger than Stephen could have known.

Paul eventually became one of the most influential voices for the gospel in all of history. Stephen never saw the change in Paul's heart. Yet God answered Stephen's prayers in ways He never could have imagined. This is one of the most encouraging truths about praying for your enemies. You may never see the outcome. The person may never change in front of you. But your prayer declares to God that no one is beyond His reach. It is a prayer of faith, and God takes those seriously. You are not responsible for the results. You are responsible for the faithfulness. Trust God with what happens next. He has a track record of doing the impossible.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

Is there someone in your life you have stopped praying for because you haven't seen any change, and what would it look like to trust God with the outcome one more time?

Quote

"Stephen never saw the change in Paul's heart. Yet God answered Stephen's prayers in ways He never could have imagined."

Prayer

God, help me to be faithful in prayer even when I cannot see what You are doing. Remind me that You are always at work, even in the moments that feel silent. Amen.

What Prayer Does for the Pray-er

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 3

Praying for someone who has hurt you might be the last thing you feel like doing. And honestly, that's okay. You don't have to feel it to start. You just have to start. Prayer has a remarkable way of changing the atmosphere of our souls. When we bring someone before God, even someone who has wounded us deeply, something begins to shift. Not always quickly. Not always dramatically. But over time, God softens what was hardened and loosens what was tightly gripped.

When Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us, He isn't asking us to perform an emotion we don't have. He's inviting us to take an action that opens the door for God to work. In us. In them. In the situation. You don't have to have perfect feelings. You don't have to erase the pain. You just need to place that person before God and trust Him with the situation. Even a prayer that sounds like, "Father, I want to forgive but I don't know how. Please help me," is a completely valid place to begin. God meets honesty with grace. Start where you are. That's enough.

Bible Verse

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:43-44

Reflection Question

If you were to pray honestly for someone who has hurt you, what would that prayer actually sound like right now?

Quote

"Prayer has a way of changing the atmosphere of our souls. And over time, we begin to discover that God is faithful."

Prayer

Jesus, I don't always know how to pray for the people who have hurt me. Teach me to bring them before You with honesty, and let that be the beginning of something only You can do. Amen.

Forgiveness Is Not Letting Evil Win

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 2

One of the biggest reasons we resist forgiving someone is because it feels like we're saying what they did was okay. But forgiveness doesn't work that way. It never has. Forgiveness is releasing your right to get even. It doesn't erase what happened. It doesn't excuse the wrong. It simply means you are choosing to trust God to dispense the justice rather than trying to do it yourself.

Corrie Ten Boom understood this at a level most of us will never have to. A Holocaust survivor, she came face to face with a former Nazi guard who had overseen the camp where her sister died. She didn't want to forgive him. But she prayed a simple prayer, asking Jesus for help, and she reached out her hand. In that moment, she experienced something she couldn't manufacture on her own. God's grace made possible what felt completely impossible. Her act of forgiveness didn't rewrite history. It didn't excuse evil. But it did reflect a deep trust in God's power to transform people and situations beyond what she could see or control. You may be facing something that feels just as impossible today. The good news is that you don't have to find the strength on your own. You just have to be willing to ask.

Bible Verse

"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly." - 1 Peter 2:23

Reflection Question

What is one area where you have confused forgiveness with excusing someone's behavior, and how might understanding the difference change your next step?

Quote

"Forgiveness is releasing your right to get even. Doesn't mean that justice disappears. It just means that we trust God to dispense the justice."

Prayer

Lord, I don't want to carry this anymore. Give me the grace to release what I cannot fix and trust You to be the righteous judge I need You to be. Amen.

You Don’t Have To Be The Judge

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 28th Sermon, Day 1

When someone hurts us, something inside us wants to make it right. We replay the moment, rehearse what we should have said, and sometimes imagine what we might still do. That desire for justice is deeply human. But Jesus, in Matthew 5:43-44, flips the script entirely. He tells His followers to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them.

This isn't a call to pretend the hurt didn't happen. It's an invitation to stop carrying something that was never meant to be yours. God is already the judge. He sees everything. Nothing escapes His attention. When we choose to love instead of retaliate, we're not letting someone off the hook. We're handing the situation to Someone far more capable of handling it than we are.

That's actually good news. You don't have to figure out how to make things right. You don't have to carry the weight of unresolved wrongs. You can place the person, the pain, and the outcome into God's hands and trust that He will act according to His perfect justice. That kind of trust isn't weakness. It's one of the most courageous things a follower of Jesus can do.

Bible Verse

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:43-44

Reflection Question

Is there a situation in your life where you have been holding onto the role of judge, and what might it look like to hand that role back to God?

Quote

"Nothing escapes God's attention."

Prayer

Father, I confess that I often want to handle things myself rather than trust You. Help me to release the weight of unresolved wrongs and trust that You are a just and faithful God. Amen.

You Are Not Doing This Alone

Sunday Rewind is a 5-day Devotional based on the weekly sermon at Resonate Community Church

June 21st Sermon, Day 5

By now, you may be thinking: this all sounds right, but I am not sure I am capable of it. Loving someone who hurt you deeply, praying for them sincerely, releasing bitterness, maintaining grace without losing yourself. That is a lot to ask. And honestly, you are right. On your own, it is too much.

But here is the most freeing truth of this entire journey: you were never meant to do it alone. We do not love enemies because we are naturally good at it. We love enemies because Christ's love flows through us when we stay connected to Him. When you remember how much you have been forgiven, forgiveness becomes possible. When you remember how patient God has been with you, patience becomes possible. When you remember that God loved you while you were still far from Him, loving someone who is far from you becomes possible.

This is not about trying harder. It is about staying closer to Jesus. His love is the source. You are simply the channel. Loving your enemy is not weakness. It may be one of the greatest demonstrations of spiritual strength you will ever show. And every time you choose it, you look a little more like the One who prayed from the cross, "Father, forgive them." You can do this. Not because you are strong enough, but because He is.

Bible Verse

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:44

Reflection Question

In what area of your life do you most need to stop trying to manufacture love on your own and instead ask God to let His love flow through you?

Quote

"We don't love enemies because we're naturally good. We can love enemies because Christ's love flows through us."

Prayer

Jesus, I cannot do this without You, and I am grateful I do not have to. Fill me with Your love today so that it overflows to the people I find hardest to love. Amen.