2 Kings 6:18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
2 Chronicles 28:8-13 The men of Israel took captive 200,000 of their relatives, women, sons, and daughters. They also took much spoil from them and brought the spoil to Samaria. But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded, and he went out to meet the army that came to Samaria and said to them, “Behold, because the LORD, the God of your fathers, was angry with Judah, he gave them into your hand, but you have killed them in a rage that has reached up to heaven. And now you intend to subjugate the people of Judah and Jerusalem, male and female, as your slaves. Have you not sins of your own against the LORD your God? Now hear me, and send back the captives from your relatives whom you have taken, for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you.” Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against those who were coming from the war and said to them, “You shall not bring the captives in here, for you propose to bring upon us guilt against the LORD in addition to our present sins and guilt. For our guilt is already great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.”
Proverbs 25:21-22 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Think of a time when you were wronged or you thought something should have been handled differently. What is the natural reaction to being wronged? What thoughts go through our mind? The world would tell us that we have every right to seek what is right in our eyes, seek retribution, or seek what is approved by society?
No one likes to be wronged. No one likes it when issues are handled in a way that they do not approve of. What is it that seems to get us on a one-way thought process? Is it pride? “I am right”. Is it thinking they are wrong? Is it thinking I am justified in my response and if it is, what are we basing this response on?
Love, forgiveness, and unity are actions we should give thought too. Is what I am thinking of showing love? Am I willing to forgive being wronged? Am I seeking unity or just adding fuel to the fire? If we seek to be led by the Holy Spirit we will be shown how to love in ways that are not natural. If we seek to be led by the Holy Spirit we will forgive where we thought it impossible. If we seek to be led by Holy Spirit we will have a spirit of unity that allows us to let go in the spirit of unity.
We need to be aware of our natural thoughts in matters that cause us to get sideways and take those thoughts captive. Bundle them up in the word of God and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us towards paths of Love, forgiveness, and unity.