Guest post by Elisha. There was this woman in my life that was someone I just couldn’t seem
to get away from. She drove me crazy. She was one of those people that
when she was around my true colors rose up. Sure on the outside I kept
a pretty face, but on the inside I was the biggest hypocrite as I
wished with all my might she would just go away. Everytime she was
around she would say things to cut me, to make me feel bad, or just to
be mean. It was irritating. All the while I knew all the right answers…I knew I was to forgive
her, I knew I was to love her and I knew that there was probably some
underlying hurt in her life that caused her to say these things. And
as much as I prayed and vowed that I had forgiven her and that I would
kill her with kindness, everytime I saw her I still wanted to ring her
neck. One day when the topic of the home group that we hold in my home came
up she stated that she was going to start coming. GREAAAAT!! Just what
I needed.(Please note the sarcasm). So she had been coming for a few
weeks and the ministry always seemed to be directed at her and that
drove me more crazy as she would sit there with a blank stare and say
she was fine and she was already doing everything she needed to. The pharisee in me sat there despising her. The unforgiveness and
bitterness in my heart was rampant and I knew then that I could not
ever love this person. I could pretend and even say all the right
things, but in my heart there was no love. So, yesterday came and we
decided to meet and get on our faces to seek the Lord. As I lay there
on my living room floor I heard the Lord asking why I cared so much
what others thought of me when I know the King of Kings. Why I longed
for others approval when I was the bride of Christ. Then He showed me this woman I despise who was next to me at the time
and asked if I was willing to love her. I confessed that I couldn’t.
He said to humble myself and consider her better than me. Immediately
I knew I had to drop my pride and be obedient. As I submitted to the
idea that I was the least and the worst, God cleansed my heart from
the unforgiveness and bitterness. No formula, just a change of heart. Then, my spiritual authority said out of the blue…”I think we should
pray over (Sally).” I knew I could lay my hands on her to pray because
of what God had just done in my heart. As we prayed I just asked for
Him to show me His love for her. I knew if I could see it, then I
would be able to love her. As she sat there she began weeping and crying out to God for all the
times she fealt alone. She said, “For the time I was alone in my
closet, for the time they beat me, for the time the called me
worthless, and for the time my parents killed themselves.” Immediately a flood of sorrow rushed through my body. So much I could
barely stand it. I kept my hand on her and wept with her. God showed
me this was just a taste of the sorrow He fealt through all these
things that she went through and that He never left her. We wept and
wept and wept. Then she turned to me and we embraced and on top of all the sorrow a
new emotion came…..LOVE. An overwhelming love for her that physically
my body could not contain. I began shaking and could barely speak to
tell her how much God loved her. We sat embraced for awhile as this
love took over my entire being. Love so great I couldn’t even look her
in the eyes becuase it was so overwhelming. Again, God revealed that this was just a taste of how much He loved
her. When the emotion died down enough to be able to come together
again as a group there was something new in me. God had given me love
for her. I looked at her with new eyes. She honestly looked different and I
swear her voice was different. We were new women. Released from the
grasp of the enemy who loves division and strife. I could not love her
with any ounce of the religiousity that is in me, but God’s love is
more than enough and so much better. Elisha Surf to: http://www.freshc.org for a Fresh Connection...
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