“I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
…Though I am surrounded by troubles,
You will preserve me against the anger of my enemies.
You will clench your fist against my angry enemies!
Your power will save me.
The Lord will work out his plans for my life –
For your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.”
~ Psalm 138:1,7-8
I had never worried since day 1, the moment these people wanted me to be in despair. Accusing me with lies, they used their power to try to stop what God had planned for me. They created problems for me, thinking that in so doing, I would desire to stop the kind of work I loved doing for the Lord. They sugar-coated their words but with His gift of discernment, those words were void of good intentions and heartfelt concerns.
I remained silent, meeting their gaze with my own until they couldn’t stand my penetrating stares. I brushed off whatever lies came out of their mouths and let them out the other ear. But I was angry with their evil hearts. I often wondered how many people they had hurt from the past and those people left because they were told lies and were given no options but to leave.
I got home and in tears knew where to go first thing. The heightened mixed emotions of injustice and at the same time, loneliness for their ignorance of God’s love flooded my heart and mind.
In prayers, I cried with tears as the air of arrogance and lies surrounded me. Silently, I gathered my strength and from His Word, my spirit was being rejuvenated. As I took my first step to fight back quietly, I knew that it would hit them hard and would hurt them, because I would never fight in the flesh. And you friends were a part of my spiritual warfare. I thank you all for your continued intercessions in this long battle I’m in.
Going to work last night, I saw that what they threatened me with did not happen. There was something different with one person who was among those who wanted me displaced from work. I could sense the disappointment from her spirit and a cowered one. I knew that if they had heard about my defense, they must be very nervous now. How would someone defend their lie?
“Good morning,” I greeted her.
She didn’t know what to say at first. Still a little surprised with the way I was treating her.
Yes, I wanted justice from the Lord. It was never my desire to wish anyone of them any wrong thing. But I desire for their hearts to get to know God through this trial. He alone knows each person’s heart.
Moses got angry when Korah, conspired with some men and accused him of acting as if Moses was greater than anyone else among God’s people. But it was never about Moses. It was about these men’s evil desire for priesthood knowing that Egyptian priests had great wealth and political influence. Moses told them to bring their incense burners and the Lord would show them who belonged to Him and who was holy.
“Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, ‘Do not accept their offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them and I never hurt a single one of them.” – Numbers 16:15
Moses warned the Israelites not to touch anything that belonged to these men so that they wouldn’t be destroyed for their sins. As he was telling the people that if Korah and those men died from natural death, then it would mean that God did not send Moses for them. But if God would do a miracle and the ground would open up and would swallow them and all their belongings, then the Israelites should know that these men had despised God.
Moses was hardly done speaking those words when the ground suddenly opened up and the earth swallowed those men and their belongings. (Read this story from Numbers 16).
No matter what other people say about our lives’ journeys, what matters is that God is the only One Who already had it planned for each of us. With His true promises, He is always here with us going through each trial we face. What seems difficult to us is never with God Who promised to be with us “up to the end of the age.” May we never let any worries take us off from focusing on God Who loves us all and desires a relationship with every lost souls .
