God Has a Place for Each of Us

The holidays bring festivities with people who may not normally be a part of your life. I mingle with neighbors, family, friends, friends of friends and my husband’s co-workers. Tonight, I had an interesting encounter. A lady was trying to be competitive with me in a passive aggressive manner. She was telling me how she talks to mutual acquaintances and she sends them pictures, and they send her kids gifts. She kept making remarks and looking at me to see if any of her remarks had ‘gotten’ to me. Over the past two years, I have been praying more, reading the bible more and trying to do God’s will. I feel like a hot mess most of time, but my heart is at peace the more I lean on the Lord. The things that used to bother me and make me upset for days, weeks and years, now seem to roll off me. More importantly, I see truth. Instead of listening to the lies Satan is whispering in my ear, “Why don’t they send you presents?”; “Why do they seem standoffish to you and speak constantly to her?”; “What is wrong with me?”, I see God’s truth. The thoughts and doubts flicker in my head, but I remain calm and unmoved by these doubts.  Instead, I see the truth and wonder why she is having a one-sided competition with me. She has a good life. Why is she trying to hurt me? Honestly, I don’t understand, and I don’t know. I used to stay up at nights festering over why she is attacking me, but now I don’t. She has an issue. She needs to take her heart to the Lord and figure it out. I thank God for protecting me. It is weird to clearly see the truth, yet not be hurt by what you see. God puts this bubble around you and protects you from all that harms you. God created everything, so if we are on God’s team, we will always win. “And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc; no weapon forged against you will prevail.”

And it is I who have created the destroyer to wreak havoc;
no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
and this is their vindication from me,”
declares the Lord.
–Isaiah 54:16-17 (NIV)

I want you to know that I am not a perfect person. I feel very far from it. God loves me anyway. He is working on me. He is not punishing me for my sins, instead he is refining me each day, so I sin less each day. The more that I seek him, the more that I find him. It is an amazing experience. God takes away my stress and anxiety. God protects me from others trying to harm me or ‘get to me’. Even though others will test you, make you uncomfortable and try to bring out your worst, trust in God and do the right thing. I have always had a problem that I have not valued myself enough and tried to make others happy, which is not the right approach either. God, loves each of us, and each of us is valued and important. God wants us to value ourselves and not be conceited, yet treat others well. God has a place for each of us. God will give us grace to deal with people trying to ‘get’ to us, so keep up the good fight!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
–Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)