Do you
ever
have to
deal
with
people
who are
mean to
you?
Yeah,
met too.
Often
they are
people
we
already
know.
Even
more
often,
they are
people
close to
us─people
we love.
We hurt
one
another
for a
lot of
reasons,
but I
think
there is
one main
reason:
We
ourselves
are in
pain.
A dear
friend
told me
once
that
people,
who are
hurting
inside,
hurt
others.
It’s so
true. We
might
not
consciously
realize
we’re in
pain and
so we
don’t
understand
that the
pain
will
come
out, one
way or
another.
That’s
usually
when we
hurt
others.
The sad
part is
that the
person
who is
hurting
you has
become
your
enemy.
That’s
just the
way we
handle
aggression.
But
there is
a way to
deal
with
this.
Well,
I’ll go
so far
as to
say that
it is
the
way to
deal
with it.
Realize
that
this is
not
about
you. You
are
getting
caught
in the
crossfire
of a
relationship
problem
between
the
other
person
and the
Lord.
I look
at it
this
way: If
I can
just
step
aside
and take
myself
out of
the
equation,
most of
the
time, my
enemy
will see
the
Lord. I
get out
of the
way by
reminding
myself
that
this
situation
is not
about
me.
We try
to make
everything
about
ourselves
don’t
we?
“They’re
mean to
me!”
“Why
does
this
always
happen
to me?”
Even
though
something
like
this may
seem to
be about
us, it
really
isn’t.
This
business
of anger
and
hatred
from
your
enemy is
a
problem
between
your
enemy
and God.
You just
happen
to be
the one
chosen
to tell
them the
truth:
that God
loves
them.
You see,
by being
in the
relationship,
we have
a
choice.
We can
do what
we are
there to
do, or
not.
It’s
usually
not easy
to tell
someone
who is
aggressive
toward
you that
God
loves,
them.
Many
times it
angers
them. It
causes
trouble.
When we
choose
to obey
the
leading
of the
Holy
Spirit,
we’re
not
guaranteed
that we
won’t
have
trouble.
The
reverse
is more
often
true,
but that
does not
let us
out of
our
obligation
to do
what He
asks.
No, our
guarantee
is not
“no
trouble.”
Recently
I heard
someone
say,
“Well,
you know
we have
no
guarantees.”
The
context
was
that:
Anything
can
happen
to us.
Later on
in the
day, the
Lord
reminded
me of
the
following
and it
almost
took me
to my
knees in
gratitude:
No, we
don’t
have a
guarantee.
We have
a
covenant.
Wow!
Think
about
that.
Guarantees
are
backed
up by
something:
Money,
time,
and
reputation.
If you
don’t
make
good
your
guarantee,
you
might
lose
money or
a
reputation,
but
that’s
all.
A
covenant
is
backed
up by
everything.
It is
backed
up by
your
very
life. It
is more
than a
promise.
It is a
solemn,
binding
agreement
sealed
in
blood.
Your own
blood…
God
staked
His
reputation,
His
name,
His
nature
and His
Son’s
life,
His
everything
to
provide
the way
for us
to have
a right
relationship
with
Him. He
fulfilled
His
covenant
to
us─the
covenant
that He
initiated─when
Jesus
died on
the
cross in
our
place.
Next
time
people
are
hurtful
toward
you, ask
the Lord
to help
you see
them
through
His
eyes.
Ask Him
to let
you see
the
person
that
Jesus
died
for, the
life
that is
so
precious
to Him
that He
backed
up His
solemn,
binding
vow by
shedding
His own
blood.
Then,
they may
be able
to hear
what
will
heal the
pain in
their
hearts
or hear
the
gentle
voice of
the Holy
Spirit
saying
they are
loved
with a
covenant
love, an
everlasting
love.
And by
the way,
the same
is true
for you,
because
He is a
covenant-keeping
God who
loves
you, my
friend.
Oh, He
loves
you so!
Phyllis
Keels
www.phylliskeels.com