Hurled Upon

He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. 2 Samuel 22:17-18

Insults, heard or implied.

Words that bring death.

When sitting near these toxic fumes, there’s not much we can do.

Especially when directed towards us.

They can explode out of nowhere.

Suddenly covering you with filth.

Covering you with filth you believe.

Covering you with lies you begin to agree with.

All from insults hurled towards you.

Like an arrow piercing your soul, words can carry death.

While they can carry death, the arrows don’t have to deliver death to you.

It’s your choice to accept the lies or not.

Your choice to keep the painful arrow stuck where it hit.

What is your other choice?

To yank it out, immediately forgiving the sender.

Impossible in your own strength.

Literally.

But that’s where God comes in for you.

When you ask God to cover you with His feathers, He will protect you.

Literally, He will.

Emotionally, and spiritually, He will cover you.

Protected by God, arrows will still come.

They will be hurled at you with frightening speed.

But – by choosing to ask God to keep you whole, you won’t absorb the arrow’s poison.

Sure, it will try to pierce your soul, spreading it’s toxic substance.

And until you are trained to immediately refuse with God’s help, it could hurt.

Even for awhile.

But every time you yank out the arrow, God’s peace will dispel the poison.

Even heal your wound.

But you must ask Him every single time.

And as you retrain your reactions to insults, God’s feathers will become stronger.

So strong, the arrows will fall away as they bump you.

Who are you going to believe?

An insulting arrow filled with someone’s jealousy, selfishness, or evil intention all filled with lies?

Or who God says that you are to Him?

Choose to remember Whose you are.

Choose to remember Who your Father is.

The One who desires to protect you from everything evil.

Humble yourself, and ask Him to protect you.

Protect your mind, body, soul, and spirit from anything not from Him.

Apart from God, we can do nothing, especially avoiding arrows filled with poison.

Psalm 121:7-8 reminds us that God will keep us from all evil.

He will even keep our lives.

Safe.

Secure.

Even more – He will keep our going out AND our coming back now and forever.

There’s nothing more we could possibly need.

Hurl away, people.

We’re ready.

Photos by Laura Crowe. Lindsey Duce, Gioele Fazzeri, & Denise Johnson on Unsplash