Devotional 4/17/26

🖤 “Love Anyway”
Verse:
Luke 6:27-28
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

Hey friend.
Loving people when it’s easy?
That’s simple.
But loving people when they’ve hurt you…
when they talk about you…
when they twist your name or treat you like you don’t matter…
That’s different.
That’s where it gets real.
Because let’s be honest—
When someone comes at you wrong, your first instinct isn’t love.
It’s defense.
It’s anger.
It’s wanting to say something back… or shut them out completely.
And part of you feels justified.
“Why should I love someone who treats me like that?”
And yet…
Jesus says:
Matthew 5:39
“If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other also.”
Not because you’re weak.
Not because what they did was okay.
But because your response doesn’t come from them…
It comes from who you’re becoming.
People will:
say things that cut deep
misunderstand you
downplay you
even try to tear down what God is building in you
That’s real.
But so is this:
You don’t grow in comfort.
You grow in pressure.
There’s something God does in those moments—
When you could react…
but you choose restraint.
When you could get even…
but you choose peace.
When you could walk away bitter…
but you choose to stay soft.
That’s growth.
Another verse says:
Romans 12:21
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
That doesn’t mean you let people walk all over you.
It means you don’t let what they did…
change who you are.
And yeah… it’s hard.
Some days you’ll want to shut down.
Some days you’ll replay what they said over and over.
Some days loving them will feel impossible.
But loving anyway?
That’s strength.
And sometimes loving them doesn’t look like being close to them.
Sometimes it looks like:
praying for them instead of talking about them
choosing peace instead of proving a point
walking away without carrying hate
You don’t have to get it perfect.
Just don’t let bitterness take root.
Because at the end of the day—
People may try to break you…
But God is using it to build you.

So love anyway.