Thank Your Haters Today

So I have come to realize that in life there will always be people that don’t agree with us, there will be those that don’t like us, there will never be a lack of people that don’t understand us, and at the worst there will be those that spend a lot of time, energy, and focus on trying to derail us from the path that we’re on. Unfortunately, some of these major haters will be those that you let into your closest circles. They will be the people that you’ve entrusted with your dreams and goals. The folks that you felt comfortable being most vulnerable with and that you gave your all for could potentially be the main people that are plotting against you. At the end of the day that really sucks. It doesn’t make dealing with their betrayal hurt any less knowing that up front, and you still experience a moment of shell shock when you’re forced to deal with these types of situations.
When we experience these types of situations we often times want to default to one of two options. We either shut down and it takes a whole lot for us to trust and open up again, or we go off. We tell these people how crappy they are, how they better not ever speak to us again, and how they deserve every thing that comes their way. In fact we are praying for said evil things to come to them because they deserve it for what they’ve done to us. I’m asking you to consider a third option, one that will probably seem crazy to most, but may be the most beneficial one in the end. I am suggesting that when people hate on you, disagree with you, and even plot to destroy you that you respond with the most gracious, sincere, and heart felt thank you that you have.
You see haters are inevitable when you are walking in your purpose. They don’t understand how or why you are doing what you are doing. They don’t feel that you’re educated enough, talented enough, outgoing enough, beautiful enough, or whatever enough you can think of. Even if they do think that you have enough, they feel like they have more of it and should be in the position that you’re in, but they’re not. The great thing about it is that their hatred of where you are and what you’re doing, isn’t enough to derail God’s plan for your life. Actually, often times God will use it to propel you to the next level.
I have had haters in so many different areas of my life. People have tried to get me fired from jobs, destroy my self perception, they’ve taken my friendship for granted, betrayed me, lied on me, talked about me behind my back, excluded me, and they’ve tried to convince me that I was worthless and for a time it looked like they were going to be successful with their schemes. However, God still had a plan and all that they did at the end of the day was open the door for God to move in my life and promote me to the next level. You see I was comfortable in a lot of these situations and usually when you’re comfortable you’re not pursuing the next thing that God has for you. When you’re happy or even just okay with where you’re at why deal with potential stress that is involved with moving forward. At that point God allows agitators into your life. This causes discomfort and usually discomfort turns into motivation for you to take action. He will use whatever it takes, and if that’s someone hating on you, then so be it.
You’re comfort isn’t a priority, but His purposes are, and if it takes you being a little uncomfortable to get it done then so be it. Get ready to go to the next level and thank your haters today. Without them you might never be motivated to move forward into what God really has for you!

Do You Remember The Time

So yes, this was the title to one of my favorite Michael Jackson songs, but it is also an overused theme in the enemy’s camp. Over the years I have found that when I am even slightly on task, the devil will take extra special care to remind me of all of the things that were negative in my past. No matter what place I’m in currently he seeks with all of his power, which really isn’t much when you think about it, to take me back to the place the I used to be in, feeling the feelings that I used to feel there, thinking the thoughts that I once thought, with the people that I used to be around. There is generally a reason that all of that stuff; the places, thoughts, feelings, and people, are in my past and didn’t make it to my present, and he tries to negate all of that and get them there anyway.

The unfortunate thing is that his suggestions are somewhat powerful. They will get you to start journeying back into time to relive some of those moments. Usually he’ll start with some of the more positive ones, but without fail he’s going to hit you with the negative sooner or later, and it’s the negative thoughts that cause us to miss the mark currently. It’s the negative thoughts that will make us self sabotage in our current walk. It’s the negative thoughts that will have us doubting people in our present relationships. It’s the negative thoughts that will have us believing that we’re not worthy of great friendships or relationships. It’s the negative thoughts that will drive us over the edge of sanity and reason, and have us doubting everything that we honestly know in our hearts to be true. And at the end of the day that’s all that the enemy really wants and needs.

He doesn’t really care whether or not we’re doing things that are evil. He just needs to make sure that we are not doing what we’re supposed to be doing at the time. You see when we’re purposeful he’s in danger. That’s when we reach people for the Kingdom of God. That’s when people get to experience the love of Jesus Christ through us. That’s when people know that they’re life is not over. That’s when people learn that God is a God of many chances because of his mercy and grace. That’s when they realize that there really is a way out of the hell that they’re experiencing. That’s when people make a decision to walk away from the foolishness and into their own purpose. That’s when people find their freedom to fully be who God created them to be. There is liberation for others in us being on task. That’s why we have to make it a number one priority in our lives.

All of this to say that the next time the devil whispers in your ear, “Do you remember the time?” respond in kind. Ask him if he remembers the time that God saved your life when he shouldn’t have. When God should have punished you but he didn’t. When God provided for you when you didn’t have any money. When God loved you when you were your most unloveable. I find that those types of memories usually shut up his foolishness really quickly. They also serve as a catalyst to keep you on track and focused on the things that really matter in your life which are living 100% for God and focusing on his purpose for you in this day.