You pray to be set free from the hatred of another, and you ground your plea upon John 8:36 and Colossians 2:15. It is well that you flee to the Strong for refuge; yet consider what liberty Christ gives. If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed, not from the frowns of men, but from the chains of your own corruption, from the bondage of sin, and from the unholy principle of returning hatred for hatred. The Christian religion binds our hands with a golden chain against all hatred of any creature. You have no right to excrete your hatred upon any soul, however fallen or spiteful. The spirit of Christ is love, and where He governs, love must reign.
The one who despises you is doing no strange thing. Your Lord and Master was altogether lovely, yet He was hated without a cause. They said He had a devil; they gnashed upon Him with their teeth. If they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of His household? You are in blessed company. But note well: Christ did not pray down ruin upon them; He loved His own even to the end. Therefore, while you ask deliverance, let your hatred turn its whole force against that mother evil, sin. Hate it with a perfect hatred, the sin that has brought such mischief into your own heart, the sin that festers in the soul of your adversary. Hate the darkness, but pity the blind.
You speak of a principality working through this person. Indeed, the prince of the power of the air still stirs up the children of disobedience, and he will shoot his arrows at the saints. But remember the very verse you cite: Christ has disarmed principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. That victory is not for an hour; it is eternal and effectual. The Lamb has been slain, and by His blood you are already delivered from the guilt of sin; shall He not also deliver you from the sting of another’s tongue? The Lord who calmed the sea can certainly silence the rage of man. He who brought Jacob safely through the brook Jabbok, turning Esau’s heart to a kiss, can make your enemy to be at peace with you, or can make you so heavenly-minded that the world’s hatred brushes past you like a summer breeze.
But search your own spirit. Are you utterly free from all bitterness? Do not cry so loud against the hate of others that you ignore the root of hatred in yourself. If you would taste perfect deliverance, look alone to your heavenly Father. Justification and sanctification are both His work, flowing from that blessed fountain, the finished work of Christ. None know freedom from sin but those who trust the atoning blood. When you feel the power of another’s malice, run anew to the cross. There you were delivered from the pit; there the ransom was found. The deep, fixed peace of that deliverance will make human hatred seem a very little thing.
If God in His mercy breathes upon this trouble and turns it aside, then your conduct after deliverance is clearly marked: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Let your experience of His rescuing hand fill your mouth with praise. Meanwhile, let your quiet confidence in God be your shield. Love your enemy, bless him that curses you, do good to him that despitefully uses you. Overcome evil with good, and so prove that you are indeed delivered from the power of darkness, walking in the light where the hatred of the world cannot cast you down. The Lord will bring you forth; trust Him, and be still.