Got Haters?

Have you got some haters?

At a previous place of employment, I had a Christian co-worker who was smart, confident, and assertive. She was a great friend.However, there were other employees who would make negative comments about her from time to time. I honestly think they were just jealous of her, because secretly they wished to be like her. Once, during an office move, she asked for an office window. Due to her seniority and position, it wasn't an unreasonable request. She was not given a window office. However, some of the "haters" thought they would be funny. They took a mirror and decorated it like a  window and hung it over her desk. They thought they were mocking her. I was present in the room, when she saw it for the first time. She asked "Who did this for me? I love it!". I told her the whole story. She just laughed and said, "Well, the joke's on them because I like it and I think its pretty!" God took their trick that was intended to hurt her as a way to bless her.

I heard a preacher on the radio say, "If you don't have haters, you ain't blessed!"
In the Bible there was a man named Isaac who planted crops during a famine. The Bible says that the Lord blessed him and he reaped a hundredfold harvest in the same year. God blessed him so much that  that he became very rich. He was so rich, in fact, that the Philistines in the land envied him. Once he became blessed, then the hatin' started!

I received a prophecy once that I would have a home that would make my enemies jealous. Well, I liked the house part. That sounded good to me. But the "enemy" part hurt my feelings. I didn't know I had any enemies. I'm a people pleaser. I want people to like me and approve of me. (If 200 people told me they liked my blog and one person told me they didn't, I would try to find out why that one person didn't like my blog and and see how I could change it so they would like it! Yes, I know that's crazy!)  (If you have issues like this, check out a book called Approval Addiction by Joyce Meyer). Anyway, I decided maybe the prophecy was wrong, because I didn't have any enemies. (Yes, that was dumb. I know that now). 

Within two to three weeks , I found out I had some haters! Someone had been talking about me behind my back. It hurt my feelings so terribly. I cried and cried literally all night long.  What had I ever done to them? I couldn't sleep or eat.  It was a hard time. But guess what? Within one month of the prophecy, I had bought a piece of land... within two months, I broke ground on a house. Within four months of that prophecy, I was moving into my new house. Who designs and builds a custom home in two months? God.  Only He could have done that. I'm not perfect and I have a lot of faults and areas for improvement. I am no more special than you or anyone else. I am blessed and you are blessed and none of us deserve it. Thank God for your blessings. But...if you are blessed, you have enemies. If nothing else, you know your enemy, the devil, is rooting for your defeat every day. (Remember my earlier blog..your struggle is not against flesh and blood.)

Guess what, everyone has enemies! At no time in your life will everybody like you or be pleased with you. Someone will always think you could have done more or been better or whatever. That has always been a struggle for me. I've spent a lot of time trying to get approval from places where it would not come. I had to learn that true and perfect love and approval can only come from God. It's certainly not going to come from imperfect humans. We all have issues and areas for improvement! Whoever is talking about you right now, probably has plenty of areas in their own life that they need to be addressing! Don't let them get you down! Ask God to help you do your best...and then forget it.

So, if you know you have enemies...does that mean you can just go around and spread hate and discontent right back? Of course not. The Bible says as long as it depends upon YOU, you are to be at peace with everyone. First, go to the person. Ask for forgiveness...try to make it right. Then, the next step gets really "fun". Just forgive your enemy, whether they accept your apology or not. Then it gets even more fun.... Start praying for your enemy. Yep. Ask God to help you see them as he sees them.

The Bible tells us to love our enemies and bless them. You need to pray for them every day. Think I'm crazy? Well, I probably am. But...I promise you, when you learn to pray for your enemies and bless people who hurt you, IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME!

In the Bible, Joseph's brothers hated him. They hated the calling of God on his life and the favor of God on his life. They sold him as a slave. However, their 'hatin" caused him to receive even greater promotion and favor and eventually saved their own lives during a time of famine. Many years later, Joseph was in Egypt and they came to purchase food during a famine. Joseph forgave them for their hurtful deeds and told them:


 "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives"  Genesis 50:20. 

Claim that scripture today and forgive anyone who has ever hurt you. Start praying for them today. You will be blessed!