I Hate You

Life is complicated. With all the joys and wonders of sunsets, the laughter of children and autumn leaves changing color, there are equal amounts of pain and disappointments.  Each of us handle pain in a different way… some internalize it, others lash out. Regardless of our responses, the fact is we all deal with pain and we have to be careful that our hurt and pain doesn’t master us.  When it does, we begin to hate.  And hate kills our own souls.

I live in the greater Charlotte area of North Carolina and I absolutely LOVE this city.  If you’ve been watching the news this week then you have seen my city… and not in the best of lights.  It is a beautiful city full of wonderful, kind people and I wish you could see that. At the same time, I 100% believe there are injustices in our city and in our nation that must be addressed, and I do not feel equipped to try and sort those out in a simple article. What I want to draw attention to is the plan of the devil to put shame on us so that we will be unable to respond correctly to the hurt and pain we are experiencing.  Because when we receive shame we lose our ability to function properly, and that is step one in the enemy’s plan.

Shame Is A Deadly Weapon

Shame is like a dark blanket that the devil wants to place on you to keep the ‘light’ out.  Shame says, ‘I am stained, I am unlovely and therefore it doesn’t matter if I hate and tear down, it’s all I can do under this canopy of pain.’  I can feel the shame in the air of my city. I feel the shame of injustice, the shame of looting and violence, and the shame of hatred swirling and looking for a place to land.  It is trying to cause people to lash out in their pain towards each other, towards themselves and towards anyone that would cross their paths. Shame isn’t tied to a race or a geographic location. It is a noose that is being lowered down to any who would accept it around their own necks. But be assured of this, the other end of the rope is in the devil’s hands.  (Click Here To Read My Post ‘Don’t Do The Devil’s Job For Him)

We all have areas in our lives where we have had to fight this battle. Maybe it was from abuse and bullying or from failures and poor decisions you made on your own.  But here’s the question: How are you doing in that fight?  The enemy is very strategic. His plan is to wound you, fill you with shame and hate and then cut you off from the very ones that can help you. Often the enemy tries hardest to get us wounded by the ones that can help us the most.  When we receive that offense it creates a barrier to us moving forward because we do not want to reconcile with that person, and that person may be a key to future blessing in our lives.  Cutting you off from that future blessing is precisely the devil’s strategy. The source of that pain could be a parent, a boss, a spouse, a pastor or even our own children. Pain is real. Hurt people, do hurt people. Will we allow the cycle to continue in our own lives though?  Will we draw the line and say, ‘no more’? I believe we can. I believe we must. (Click Here To Read My Post ‘Are You Strong Enough To Use Restraint?’)

Do you WANT To Be Well?

In John 5 Jesus comes to a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years.  The man tells of how he knows healing is available to him if he could just make his way down to the waters that are not far from the mat he is lying on. He explains all the ways no one has helped him and how others have overlooked him.  Jesus asked Him one question, and I believe He is asking us the same question… ‘do you WANT to be well?’  One would assume that a person lying near a source of healing would WANT to be well. That is not always the case though. Sometimes we prefer for someone to feel sorry for us.  But sympathy doesn’t bring healing; hopeful, loving action does. Jesus didn’t curse the man for his disposition, He confronted Him in love and then helped Him take action. Not only that, He made sure he took his mat with Him to signify ‘you don’t belong here anymore and you have no reason to come back’.  (Click Here To Read My Post ‘A Saint Abroad and a Devil at Home’)

Have you been lying in your pain for too long? Have you blamed others and felt powerless to do something about it? I’m positive your pain is real, the question is how real do you want your healing to be? God will help you if you will be helped. Don’t hate those who hurt you. Determine to move into the destiny He has for you. Not only will God set you free from your pain, but He’ll make sure your mat gets moved as well so that you never have a reason to come back to that place of powerlessness.

From The Bible

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. – Proverbs 10:12 NIV

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?”  7 “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”  8 Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. – John 5:6-9 NIV

We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. – I John 4:19-20 NIV