The hate hurt! I hate drama! Whether it’s arguments with my ex over how we co-parent, being on hold for an hour and half with the Attorney General’s office – yes, that really does happen, or fighting over medical bills, I’m exhausted and it all makes my heart hurt. I want to do something about it, I want to make it all stop, but what? I’ve been praying about it and this is what I keep hearing in my mind louder than anything: “This is a distraction to get you off course. Remember who your real enemy is, and how does he work?”
I know my real enemy is Satan. I learned that during my divorce. It’s not that the AG office doesn’t need more people answering the phone, that my ex wasn’t guilty of being awful to me, or that medical billing systems aren’t frustrating, but when I focused on who I am really fighting, my tactics change. I focus. I stopped wasting time and energy in places that get me no where. The mastery of how Satan works isn’t in an initial conflict because he’s more sinister than that. His real goal is to destroy me from within.
The only way He does that is when I chose to let him:
- Recycling fear, anger and hurt on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram.
- Complaining to my friends about my life. – This does not mean that we cannot talk about what is hurting us with our dearest friends, but pay attention to it. If every time you are together and all you do is complain, than you may be doing yourself a disservice.
- Churning the hate and anger within with rants and arguments in the mind.
- Distancing yourself from life when you’ve had enough of the drama by choosing to “check out” instead of “checking in”.
What if instead we chose to love well. What if every time a hateful thought crosses our minds we prayed? What if every time something horrific happens we do a good deed? Let’s fight fire with fire! Lets make connection, let’s build community and strengthen relationships. Let’s do the opposite of what Satan wants. Let’s make him sorry He ever messed with us!
I am challenging each of you to love well. Fight back with the one weapon that actually works! We aren’t fighting the things of this world, “for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Pay attention to what isn’t as obvious, for when we return good for evil, we follow the example of Christ (1 Peter 2:20-23).
By Vanessa Jackson, MABC, LPC-Intern
The Timothy Center
http://www.timothycenter.com
Supervised by Jimmy Myers, Ph.D, LPC-S
Abigail Network 