How Would You React?

Yesterday, I pulled into my local grocery store to pick up a few items.  I drove to the general area where I almost always park, pulled up behind a truck and waited for it to move so I could pull into a parking space.  Suddenly, the truck quickly and loudly pulled away as if the driver was mad at the world … speeding through the parking lot. Instantly, I had a sick feeling … a feeling that I should not leave my car, but I didn’t know why.  I stayed in my car and only moments later, the man who had been in the truck was on foot headed for my car.  He saw that I was still in my car, began yelling something at me and then turned around and walked back to his truck. I realized that he was angry at me for some reason … for pulling up behind him in a parking lot??  This was all very strange.  I took out my phone, got the camera ready, snapped a few shots of him and his truck for my own records, and headed inside the store.  All the while he was yelling something at me.  I couldn’t understand what he was saying and didn’t stick around to find out. I said nothing and walked into the store. I don’t mind telling you that I was more than just a little bit fearful.  He was so loud, people in the parking lot stopped and looked at him to see what was happening.  There  was a woman there who was pleading with him saying, “No, don’t do this … don’t do this!”  I went into the store as quickly as I could and found the store manager.  I explained what happened, which was actually nothing, but me driving through the parking lot to find a parking space. No altercations, no frustration, no horn honking … nothing.  This is indeed one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen take place. The manager headed outside and I went with him.  About that time, the man pulled up in his truck yelling absurd accusations about me to the manager.  I just stood there and didn’t say a word.  When we walked away, I told the manager to watch the video. This was nothing but “much ado about nothing.”

Once inside, a lady approached me to make sure that I was ok.  Yes, I was ok. But, yes, this had really happened! It wasn’t a bad, weird dream! I told her that God takes care of me at that I’m ok.

As I was walking through the store contemplating what had just happened I thought to myself, “The war we fight is not with flesh and blood.” (Ephesians 6:12) This was nothing but an attack … a VERY public attack of the enemy. I began praying for the man, his children’s and his wife’s salvation. (His children were in the truck with him) Through my own experiences in life, I understand that his display is only a minute sampling of what takes place in the home. The woman pleading with him to behave himself is proof of that.

After church today, I went to pick up a friend of mine from her church because there were a group of us going out for lunch. She had told me where I could pick her up, but was unsure of the exact time. So, I drove there and pulled up behind an SUV to wait for her. While I waited, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that my pulling up here and waiting behind the vehicle in front of me was no different than what I had done yesterday.  I pulled up behind a vehicle and waited patiently … that’s all. The difference in the two was the hearts of the drivers.

I have no idea what is going on in the life of the driver of that truck yesterday, but there’s one thing I do know :: He needs Jesus!

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:27- 28 to love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  Later in verses 32-36, Jesus says to us, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And, if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And, if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be repaid in full.  Jesus then said, “Love your enemies, do good to them and lend to them without expecting anything back. Then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”

You see it would have been easy to be kind to the man in the SUV in front of me at church. He didn’t speed off, acting crazy, and yelling at me … for no apparent reason. The real challenge was being kind to the man at the grocery store who did those things and began yelling at me and embarrassing me in the busy parking lot full of onlookers at a grocery store. I chose to speak no words to him. I chose to pray for him and his family. I don’t say these things to pat myself on the back, because I’ll assure you that I have not always chosen the proper way to respond to people like this. I used to respond the way I as taught to respond … and that wasn’t always good! (Trust me … just sayin’!) It takes time alone with God to understand how to be led by Holy Spirit, who teaches us as we allow Him to do so. And, I still don’t always get it right. I’m human, just like you. Maybe you’re someone who was taught a different way or the proper way to handle an issue like this from the time you were young and this isn’t a struggle for you. Hey, that’s great! But, I assure you, there is probably a different topic of struggle in your life. We all have struggles. We all have baggage … just like the man who sparked the idea for this blog. This side of Heaven, we, as followers of Christ, will always have something to work on about ourselves.

The point of my telling you this story is to urge you, as a follower of Christ, to love your enemies. It may mean to bite your tongue and simply pray for a person or persons. Let the love of God flow through your life to others. In order for us to do that, we, ourselves, need to be filled to overflowing with the Spirit of God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13  May my lips overflow with praise, for you have taught me your decrees. Psalm 119:171  God’s ways are not like our ways. His ways are higher than our ways. Just as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are God’s thoughts and ways higher than ours. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

I was about to cut this blog off here, but I feel the leading of the Spirit to add more onto it. It has been my experience that many within the Body of Christ believe that in a situation similar to this one, it would be their place to preach to the man, tell him “how it is” … or what some would even say, “beat the man over the head with the Bible.” NO … NO … just don’t do it!! Do you know that can do more harm than good? Ensure your servants wellbeing; do not let the arrogant oppress me. Psalm 119:122 I have to tell you that I believe that this scripture is a believer (there is no credit for an author of this Psalm) asking God to protect him from arrogant non-believers (Or maybe eve arrogant believers???). But, I also believe that I have seen arrogance within the body of Christ. And, many times, I have seen this arrogance hurt believers and non-believers, alike.  JUST DON’T DO IT! I cannot stress this enough. This is not love. This is not God. Arrogance is not of God! I have experienced this from believers and I can tell you, first hand, that it is not helpful.

Check your heart.

Think before you speak.

Are you speaking words because you truly want to help (love) or because you want to share your “expertise” or whatever?

Pray, church. Pray! God is the only One who is capable of getting ahold of a lost, hardened heart. Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

Church, let’s rise up by hitting our knees! It’s the way to win the lost to the Lord. Invite people to church. Be loving, be kind. Jesus went about doing good. (Acts 10:38) Follow in His footsteps, we can’t go wrong by doing this!

    

The Age Of Much Knowledge...

Our society has been indoctrinated to believe that once you have attained a certain age/education/financial status/place in society, etc., you have all that you need in life. (Many times, people believe that they are wise rather than knowledgeable because of attaining one or more of these things!)  So often, people judge others by those worldly standards.  Jesus said to remove the plank from your eye before helping your brother/sister remove the splinter from theirs. Matthew 7:3-5 This is such a true and helpful statement.  Many times I’ve witnessed someone “advising” others when I could clearly see that that person was way off base about what they were saying. (Been there, done that, myself!!)  If we take a look at ourselves and “remove that plank” from our own eye, we would surely be surprised to see that what we thought was the case with someone may not be the case at all simply because our outlook through that plank was distorted.

 

The Bible says that a fool speaks much. Proverbs 29:11 A wise person listens and then speaks. Proverbs 1:5, Proverbs 12:15  Keep your tongue under control. Proverbs 21:23, James 1:26  Your words can hurt deeply, even if you never intended for them to do so.

 

I’ve recently had some folks make assumptions about me that were way off base simply because they were looking through the plank in their own eye.  Unfortunately, in many of these situations, it wasn’t my job to do the correcting(even though I wanted to!!). The Lord will fight for us, we need only be still. Exodus 14:14 However, there has been a time or two where I have felt it necessary to defend myself, so to speak.  I am called to be many things in God, but a door mat is not one of those things.  We are, however, called to love our neighbor as love ourselves. Matthew 22:39 Finding a healthy balance, as in all things, is the key.

 

In this journey of life, we rarely find someone who is at the same place in life that we are.  Be patient, be kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4-13  Don’t be a doormat, either.  Being a Christian isn’t an exercise in passivity, but rather a transformation in becoming more like Jesus.  Philippians 3:21, Romans 12:2 Jesus did not go around acting like a know it all, but he also was not passive.  He addressed things when and where they needed to be addressed.  He used wisdom. Age and knowledge, etc. will only produce wisdom when allowing ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, which involves repenting quickly when we sin and dying to self, among many other things.

 

Don’t allow yourself to fall prey to the “way” of our culture...in this "time of much knowledge".  And, be cautious, because much of the culture of this world has crept into the church, as well.  Read the Word; follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. (Don’t just take my word for it. Seek God in these things for yourself.) You will find that when you follow the Spirit of the living God, the worldly way of doing things is not the only way of doing things.  God’s ways are mysterious; they are not like the ways of man. Isaiah 55:8-9  Seek him for who he is.  Matthew 6:33  Ask him for wisdom.  He will not deny you. James 1:5  Look in the mirror of the gospel to find the plank(s) in your own eyes before you begin to help your neighbor with the much smaller splinter in theirs. James 1:23-24

Who's your enemy?

While a friend was praying for me today, the Lord brought to my memory that when we’re taking ground for Him, the enemy will attack us where we have been injured the most in our lives, simply because he knows what is most painful to us.  He pulls out all stops to try to keep us from doing God's will. If he can get our focus off of Jesus and onto the pain that we're enduring, he can keep us from moving forward for the Lord.

Keep in mind that, so often, without people realizing it, they allow the enemy to work through them…or us…myself included.  Ephesians 6:12 tells us that it’s not flesh and blood that we wrestle with, but principalities, powers and the rulers of the darkness of this age.  ( Ephesians 6:12 NKJV - For we do not wrestle against flesh and - Bible Gateway )  It’s not people who are the enemy; it’s the enemy working through others. It’s important that we remember this when we are attacked in this way.

Like many of you, I have been rejected many of times in my life.  My first memory of rejection happened around age 3 by my grandma.  As I take aggressive steps forward for what I believe to be God’s will for my life, rejection as well as other things that plagued my childhood, spring forward quickly and strongly through others.  Now I wish that I could tell you that I’ve always handled these attacks well, but I would be a liar if I did.  Even now, when knowing what I know about the enemy and his ways, I don’t always respond in the best way.  I must say I’m grateful for friends who understand this and are willing to hear what’s on my heart and pray with me.  Ultimately, I’m grateful for the Holy Spirit for His willingness to continue to lead me, guide me, and like today...remind me of things that I’ve already been taught, but needed to be reminded.  This strengthens my mind and spirit.  Of course, praising and worshipping the Lord is always the best way to get your eyes off of yourself and back onto Jesus.

Another of the challenges of these attacks is to be kind to those who unknowingly cause pain.  In the majority of these situations, I’m positive that the folks causing pain don’t realize they’re even doing it.  Knowing this and continuing to treat them with love and kindness is another challenge all its own.

Since I’ve experienced this so much in my life, I am ultra aware of what I do and say to others.  I don’t want to be one to deliver pain to another person through the words of my mouth.  I ask myself if what I have to say to others is truly necessary and what my motives are.  If I have any doubt whatsoever, I choose not to speak.

I hope that sharing the challenges of my life help you in some way.  Jesus never said that following Him would be easy.  But, I totally and completely believe that living my life to be pleasing to God is definitely worth it.  When I look back on my life, see where I once was and where I am now, I am encouraged and strengthened for the road ahead…the road to being all that God created me to be.