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Grace and Peace, Beloved of God!
Welcome to “Judah’s Roar-r-r”!
As explained in previous posts, to ROAR means to “utter a deep cry or howl as in excitement, distress or anger.” We are about to do just that!
Let’s talk about our haters – our adversaries or opponents. If you have named the name of Christ, repented of your sin, and accepted him as your Lord and Savior, here is a Public Service Announcement for you: You have haters. Yes, you …with your highly anointed, kind hearted and spiritually gifted self!
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: A great door and effectual is opened to me, and there are many adversaries. ~ 1 Corinthians 16:9
First of all, let’s stop acting like we don’t have haters. Everybody doesn’t love us – some of them don’t even like us. A few, frankly, flat out can’t stand us! If you don’t have ANY haters, I submit to you it’s for 1 of 2 reasons:
1) You yourself are a card carrying member of ” Haters International”, or
2) You are not advancing the Kingdom of God, and therefore pose zero threat to the kingdom of darkness.
Before you read any further, say a quick prayer and fasten your seatbelt! If you are in search of kid gloves and a little hand holding, don’t read any further – and unfriend me now!
Spiritual Gymnastics
Here are some of the “spiritual gymnastics” that we engage in when we refuse to accept the obvious:
1) We will tell ourselves that we are being “judgemental” (it’s not unusual for the hater him/herself to suggest this in order to remain incognito). If we are truly in denial, we’ll even have scripture to back it up.
2) We will tell ourselves that it is important to recall all of the times in the past that the suspected hater has “been there” for us – as though that has ANYTHING AT ALL to do with the fact that they are “Hating” now.
3) They will enlist the assistance and allegiance of others whose opinion you have valued in the past, in hopes that they will influence you to stop any forward movement.
4) They will attempt to shame you with your past perceived failures, proclivities and shortcomings.
Listen, when “closet haters” begin to discern that you are about to advance to a place that does not include them – the tomfoolery begins in earnest. This is how you can tell:
1) They will come armed with all of the reasons that your idea, concept or vision will not work.
2) They will use scripture – out of context- to undergird their position.
3) They will withdraw from you or display an ” attitude”. This tactic is designed to cause you to seek their approval and acceptance by inquiring regarding what you have done wrong.
4) If they do re-engage, it will be to inform you that you are “in error” (if they’re trying to be deep and mystical), or just dead wrong ( because obviously they are always right).
5) They will remind you of “all” that they have done for you, how they believed in you when no one else did, how “jacked up” you were before they rescued you, blah, blah, blah ( the industrious hater will have out-of-context scripture for this as well).
6) They will make no real attempt to problem solve or assist you in addressing the “issues” that they perceive with your vision. To offer any real assistance would be counterintuitive. The “real” objective is to stop or at least hamper any forward movement or growth on your part.
7) If all else fails, They will use their realm of influence to damage your credibility: relationships with those close to you, social media platforms, etc.
** It is important to note that your pool of possible Haters is not limited to those you consider peers. In some instances, it is conceivably someone whom you admire, and are even “submitted” to.
How to Respond Strategically
1) Understand that opposition goes with the turf. It is the enemy’s job to do his best to infiltrate our trusted circle in order to gain access to us.
2) Remove the “Rose colored glasses”. The Lord is Our Strong deliverer against our ACTUAL adversary. He does not need us to minimize the tomfoolery in order to make our deliverance “do-able”. The real question is, why do WE need to do this?
3) Purpose in your heart that the Lords’ voice will be the loudest voice in your ear.
4) Cultivate your OWN relationship with the Lord so that frankly, you are able to discern when someone is using their position in your life to lie on God.
5) Practice Responding and not Reacting. There is most definitely a difference. Note: this will require enduring and resisting the urge to defend yourself, argue your point, etc. Remember, If we react rather than respond, we relinquish dominion.
Finally, Beloved be encouraged. The Word of God is true: Greater is he that is in you, than He that is in the world. Jesus admonished us that in the world we will have tribulation. It is to be expected. You CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you! Having haters goes with the turf!
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