Thank God for Your Haters

 

Thank God for Your Haters

How often have we encountered people who make us mad…people who hurt us…or people who downright hate us? If you are like me, you seem to run into these people at the time when you think that you are making personal or professional gains. I can remember thinking one time, “Dog, if it wasn’t for --, this would be an awesome place to work.” I didn’t realize that I was allowing someone to dictate my day. I was giving this person power over me. The reality is that our haters are a part of our lives, and we should thank God for them.

I know you are probably thinking that I am crazy. Who need haters? Who wants haters? I do. We all do. Why? Because it is the people who annoy us or who plot against us that help us to reach our full potential. They force us to work harder and give it our best. They force us to pray more and with more sincerity. It is our haters that propel us into our destiny.

I can remember working on a project at work. I was doing the project, but I wasn’t all that concerned about it. However, my nemesis decided to make a comment about how much better the project would be if she was the one doing it. Well, what do you think this made me do? It made me care. It made me suddenly want to give it my best. I worked so much harder on that project just to show her that I was just as capable as she was.

When we look at the bible, we see so many examples of people having to deal with “haters”. Take Joseph, for example, he was hated by his brothers. His brothers went as far as to plot his murder. Thankfully, Joseph wasn’t murdered, but he was sold into Egypt as a slave. Why? This all happened because his brothers recognized a greatness in him, and they were jealous. This also happened because Joseph was arrogant. Joseph was blessed. He knew he was blessed. And, he wanted everyone else to know he was blessed. Joseph’s arrogant attitude was not what God wanted. He needed a humble man. So, he allowed him to learn humility as a slave and as a prisoner. Despite everything he went through, Joseph eventually rose to the greatness that had been promised him.

If Joseph’s brothers had not sold him into slavery, he would never have been in Egypt at the time God needed him. If Joseph’s haters, his brothers, had not been jealous, a whole nation would have perished. God, in his infinite wisdom, knew what was ahead. So, he positioned Joseph to be at the right place at the right time. What Joseph’s enemies meant for his harm worked out for his good.

So, as we face the challenges of today and the people who hate us, remember they are only there as stepping stones. They are helping to take us to the next level. Your haters are just a set up for your blessing.

Psalms 23: 5

You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows

 

Genesis 50:20

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”

Even This: Even the Bad Things are Working for Your Good

 

Even This

Each of us have times in our lives when we experience something that we feel is unfair or simply unbearable. I know I have. I have experienced times in my career when people bullied me, mistreated me, or did things to try to get me fired or make me look bad. I can remember wondering why. I couldn’t understand why people who could care less about their jobs or who didn’t like teaching or children that seem to be sailing through work every day. No one came to harass them. No one questioned their every choice. But, me, that was a different story. I just didn’t get it. I loved teaching. I loved children. So, why was I the one always singled out?

Now that I have grown in Christ, I can see what was really going on. Yes, I was a Christian at the time, but I wasn’t as mature as I am now. So, what do I now see? I see Christ. I see that God was in the mist of the trouble preparing me for a blessing. I see that instead of stressing and fighting and not sleeping I should have had faith in God. I should have kicked in cruise because “all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord”.

I know Joseph must have felt abandon and lost during those years he spent in the prison in Egypt. I have never been to prison, but I can imagine the loneliness he felt being away from his family. I can imagine the disappointment he felt when he remembered his dreams of greatness. I am sure there were times he even questioned God’s purpose.

But, what Joseph didn’t know was that God was putting him in position. He was putting him in the right place at the right time. He was stuck in Egypt to save his family when the famine came. He was in prison learning some humility. Joseph was having an “Even This” experience.

I have had some “Even This” experience. Those experiences have help to make me stronger. They were increasing my faith.

As my pastor, Dr. Robert Nix, likes to say, “It didn’t happen by chance”. Even the bad things turn into blessings.

So, as you face the problems of today, remember that “even this” is working for your good. Amen. Amen.

Genesis 37