Human beings tend to suffer in silence. We fear rejection and criticism, so we internalize our thoughts and feelings rather than confiding in one another.
Inner
voices, which do not line up with God's Word, are lies from Satan Himself. The
only way to dispel His lies is by hearing and then speaking God's truth (Philippians 4:8; 1
Timothy 4:1).
Once we receive our forgiveness from God through repentance and faith in exchange for our sins, then God receives us as His own precious children (1 John 3:2).
Like Jesus we forgive those who harm us. If they are
repentant, we allow them back into our heart. If they refuse to repent, then we
forgive them for our sake, but keep them at a distance.
Even
though we forgive them, we do not condone their behavior toward us, and we
certainly never allow them any opportunities to harm us again.
We
derive our self-worth through Christ in us, rather than through our own
achievements. This way our esteem does not depend upon people, circumstances or
meeting our goals.
It
depends on God's faithfulness and the presence of Christ abiding within us. We
are secure in who we are through Christ. We live the life to which He calls us
(Ephesians 2:10).
This
way too, we have no need to attempt to manipulate and control the behavior of
others in order to make our self feel better, safer or more secure.
Prayer:
Father
God, people do tend to maliciously use us, but You encourage us to love them
with Your agape love and to forgive them and pray for them (Matthew 5:44).
However, we can also be wise as snakes and gentle as doves in our dealings with
them (Matthew 10:16).
We
point them to Your love for them, but we never again allow them to take
advantage of us or to use us for their evil gain. Their opinion of us does not
matter anymore, because our identity and our good name come from You (Proverbs
22:1; Psalm 52:9).
Thought
for the Day:
No one is more
deceived than the person who will not admit that he or she is wrong; but we can
forgive them anyway and erect boundaries to keep them from harming us again.
