A boomerang is a throw tool with certain aerodynamic properties, used both as a weapon in hunting or as a piece of equipment in sporting contests. The design and manner of throw allow for two types of boomerangs – returning and non-returning.
The returning boomerang is so designed and thrown as to return to the thrower. It was originally used in hunting to scare birds and other prey from their hiding place as it flew over their heads. It is now also used in boomerang sports.
Non-returning boomerangs, like hunting boomerangs, are designed and thrown to just fly forward to the hunter’s target, either striking the target and hopefully killing it, or at least disabling it until it can be killed. It is what you could call a “harvest” boomerang, as the prey that is hit with it becomes something to eat - a game harvest.
Both types of boomerangs produce a result; just that one hits a target, while the other one returns back to the thrower.
Our boomerangs
Words we speak, whether blessings or curses, can be like both types of boomerangs. Actions can also have a boomerang effect. Both word and action boomerangs can be either good or evil, with both producing a result, either against a target, or sometimes against the thrower.
Good returning boomerang
Luke 10:5&6, in instructions to the seventy that Jesus sent out, He tells them, “But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.” The disciples would be speaking God’s word – peace –and the recipient had a choice to either receive their blessing of peace or reject it. If not received, it would boomerang back to the disciples who spoke it and give them peace.
I remember one incident when a prayer for healing boomerang returned to me, to bless me. At one of the churches that I attended for quite some time, our pastor had called those who wanted healing from the Lord to come up to the front of the church, to the altar, so that they could be prayed for. One gentleman, who was battling cancer, came forward and I was led to stand behind him and pray, in agreement with him, for his healing.
I really didn’t feel like doing it, as I had a sinus congestion and headache, but I obeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit and went and prayed for this man. To my surprise, as I prayed for this man, the Lord healed me. As I stood behind this gentleman praying, instantly my sinuses were healed, as well as my headache gone. I had not asked for the healing as I figured that nature would take its course as it usually did when I had this problem.
I learned later that this gentleman passed away a few days later. Maybe the reason for this was that this gentleman had not believed for and accepted his healing. Or maybe it was his time to die and God allowed my prayer for his healing to return to me and benefit me. For which reason I do not know, but I do know that my prayers for someone else’s healing had the effect of a returning boomerang and I was healed.
Negative word returning boomerang
Negative words we speak can also boomerang back on us. Our Lord Jesus gives us this warning, in Matthew 7:1&2, as He stated, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Sometimes we say critical things about what someone has either said or done only to find out some time later, which may be even years later, that we are receiving criticism for the same thing we criticized someone else for.
Negative action returning boomerang
Actions can also boomerang back against us. In the book of Esther we find this example with a man named Haman. Haman had a beef with Mordecai, as he felt that he was more important and deserved more recognition by the King than the Jew Mordecai did. So he plotted against Mordecai, planning to have him hung on a gallows he had built especially for Mordecai.
But Mordecai had obtained favor from the King, and Haman’s plan backfired as he himself was hanged on the very gallows he had built to hang Mordecai on (Esther 7). Because Mordecai was evidently protected by God, the act of hanging him bounced off of him. It had no reason to alight on him. (Proverbs 26:2 “Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight.”) So Haman’s purpose returned back to Haman himself and fulfilled itself on Haman rather than Mordecai.
We find this same example in the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 6 records the plot that some governors and satraps had contrived against Daniel. The king was tricked into making a decree that would entrap Daniel. When the king’s hand was forced to deal with Daniel, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den as his judgment, but nothing happened to him because he was innocent.
When Daniel was freed from the den, those who brought charges against Daniel were themselves thrown into the lion’s den, only this time judgement was ministered to them as they all were torn to pieces. Their plot returned upon their own heads because Daniel was innocent, with God protecting him and bringing judgment upon his accusers.
King Ahab had a negative boomerang return to him, as he thought that he had gotten away with murdering Naboth for his vineyard (I Kings 21). It took a while to return, but Naboth was an innocent man, and the boomerang that came back on Ahab came back with a vengeance (II Kings 9&10). (Romans 12:19, “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.”)
Beware of throwing a negative boomerang. Your target may be God’s anointed. Psalm 105:15, “Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm.” God was a shield that protected Mordecai, Daniel, and avenged Naboth from the words and actions of men used by the devil, and their words and actions were returned upon them in a significantly greater manner.
As a child of God, in right standing with Him, the evil that people say and do against you will not allow the devil to legally work in your life. Isaiah 54:17 states, “‘No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me.’ says the LORD.”
Good boomerangs
Good acts or words of blessing can be returned back to you as a returning boomerang, if it is not received. Or it could be a harvest boomerang, as seed returning to you in the form of a harvest later on. Either way – a returning, or non-returning boomerang - there is a blessing for giving a word of blessing or doing an act of blessing.
Ecclesiastes 11:1, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” Proverbs 19:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given.” Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Galatians 6:9&10 states, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Everyone is worthy of a good boomerang
But not just those of the household of faith are worthy of blessing: everyone is, even your enemies. Jesus gave us this instruction about blessing our enemies, in Matthew 5:44, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray
for those who despitefully use you and persecute you,...”
Why would Jesus say this, especially concerning our enemies? Because, as He continues on in this verse, “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven;.” We are to be like our Heavenly Father, blessing all mankind, whether we feel like they deserve it or not. Remember, we were once enemies of God until we were blessed when we received the gift of salvation and given the blessing of eternal life with Him.
Another reason is found in I Peter 3:9, “not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you might inherit a blessing.” Remember, our spiritual battle with the devil is a battle of opposites. If we do the same as our devil-controlled adversaries, reviling in return for reviling, then we just end up furthering the kingdom of darkness rather than the kingdom of God. We are called to a better, heavenly response.
Jesus gave us the perfect example by the way He reacted to the words spoken and the deeds done against Him - He kept quiet (Isaiah 53:7) and responded with wisdom and love. Our natural, carnal reaction would be to counterattack our enemies in the same way we are attacked, but that does not bring any blessing to either parties involved.
When we bless instead of reviling, we inherit a blessing. Like a returning boomerang, the blessing we speak can return upon us to bless us. When our enemies come against us, unless they repent, they cannot receive a blessing since the evil they say and do will not legally permit a blessing to land upon them and bless them. So, it automatically returns to you, as an inheritance of being a child of God.
Which boomerang will you be throwing – good or evil?
So if you want a blessing, then constantly speak blessing over people, both in good and bad situations. If it is an enemy, you can change an adversarial situation into a blessing by proclaiming a blessing on your enemy.
If a blessing is not received, by either a friend or enemy, then the blessing will return to bless you as a returning boomerang. If it doesn’t return to you, then you know it is a seed, and that it will return to you as a harvest later on.
Of course, if you don’t want any blessings in your life then just continue to criticize and speak negative words on people, and you will have that in your life as a returning boomerang.
Remember: words and actions are like boomerangs: they work both ways. Which way it works depends upon you.
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