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

Toxic poison

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21

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Are you affected by poison?

I know we never knowingly ingest the stuff.

I’m talking about subtle poison.

Toxic people.

Toxic situations.

Lies from the pit.

Poison like that is all around us.

It infects us frankly easier than literally ingesting liquid.

So what should you do when you find yourself without warning in the midst of poison?

Suddenly surrounded by the bad stuff?

Refuse to participate.

Isn’t that what they teach kids about drugs?

You bet.

It’s good advice.

Refuse.

Don’t let your heart become drawn.

Set your mind against participation with fear or disappointment.

Keep your head and rise above it, staying in peace.

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Poison is meant to infect.

It’s goal is to inflict pain, cutting you to the core.

So don’t let it.

Sounds simple, but in reality, it’s pretty hard.

Our nature tends to succumb to temptation.

In this case, succumbing to the temptation of pain.

Pain is familiar.

Anger is familiar.

Disappointment is familiar.

These toxic reactions are poison.

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I have an example.

Recently, someone produced gifts for everyone except for me.

It was a pointed attack, meant for harm.

If I had let the toxic poison sink deep, anger and depression would have clung to my soul.

Instead, I refused to participate, letting the disappointment fall to the ground.

I did not let the toxic power take hold.

If I had, the poison would have won.

Just what the person wanted.

Battling toxic people or situations can only be done with God.

God is on your side.

He is present and fights for you.

He wants every good thing for you.

He is on your side.

Don’t you want to be on His?

You can be when you resist toxic people and situations.

Try it.

I have complete confidence in you.

With God.

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Photos by LisaZacharyBryan, & Seb on Unsplash