Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals.
1 Corinthians 15:33
Every successful person has a good, strong support system standing beside them.
Have you ever had friends who you thought were your friends abandon you when you needed them the most?
Unfortunately, it happens. And fortunately, it’s a great lesson of how God delivers us from people who may not have our best wishes for us.
This form of deliverance has happened to me time and time again with friends, family and even men when I was dating.
You see, we tend to be loving, caring and nurturing people by nature and so we look for good in people. So it’s hard to wrap our heads and hearts around when someone doesn’t have the best intentions in mind. Sometimes, it seems that they don’t have any control over the things they say and do. And we are left standing there scratching our heads with tears in our eyes from the hurtful words this person said to us. And they just walk away like it’s no big deal. Then, we replay the incident over and over again in our minds trying to figure out what we could have said or did differently. We are trying to figure out something or someone who cannot be figured out especially when the enemy is using them. We are trying to make sense out of something that doesn’t make sense.
Confusion is one of the enemy’s weapon against us. Sometimes, we are trying to rationalize about a non-rational person. That’s a whole different thing. And then there are times when our reaction is directed by the enemy so that we can focus on the incident instead of the character of the person who is typically a good person. The enemy doesn’t want us to have a good support system. It wants to isolate us!!
This post isn’t about calling people out as being evil, it is about realizing that some people don’t think like we do and they will do or say anything to get us to react to bring us down to their level of confusion and to get us to lower our morals of how we would typically react or respond. Also, the enemy will use those closest to us to add that element of evil to get us to do evil in return. It wants to tear us apart.
Have you ever lashed out at someone as a reaction of them lashing out at you and that’s not your normal behavior? That’s what this is about. We are sometimes provoked to doing something out of the ordinary and don’t even realize it until it’s over.
Now understand that there are a plethora of unhealthy people in this world who want you to implode and not succeed. That’s why it’s so important to build up your support system so that when you have a situation with this type of person, you can reach out for support and get a different perspective on what happened.
Just recently, I got upset with a friend who I realized that I was reacting in a manner that isn’t my norm. I avoided her! My normal/typical response would be to take a step back first, breathe, realize that her behavior had nothing to do with me so I could respond accordingly. It took me several weeks to see the enemy was deceiving me by replaying the conversation over and over in my head. (By the way, Overthinking is one the enemy’s favorite tools to use against us) I was triggered and didn’t realize it.
Once I reached out to my support system, talked it over with trusting people, I saw where I was triggered and I was able to let things go. Big difference than beating myself up and being confused about the situation. The key is to have trusting people in your life that you can vent with about such things.
We have a choice on how we respond to each other. We can either react in the moment or we can practice learning how to respond in a way that reflects our loving and compassionate typical self.
How are you seeking support from others? Who are you surrounding yourself with that you can reach out to for support?
Is there a person that may not be healthy for you and when you’re talking with them, you become someone you’re not?
How can you practice being loving and compassionate when speaking with a friend who you’ve had a situation with?
May you find the best supportive people for you so that you can lean on them when necessary. When you pray, may God lead you to understanding of any people like described above so that you can be who you are designed to be instead reacting to their reaction. May God show you who the people are in your life so that you who is in your corner no matter what. Also, may God bring you a sense of belonging to your community and feel connected with love, joy, comfort and peace.
Love, Hugs, and Hope
Sha Sparks is an Empowerment Speaker, Certified Fearless Living Coach, Author of How to Get Your Voice Back, Host of The Power of Investing in People podcast.
CEO (Chief Excitement Officer) Sparks of Hope LLC
Her belief is “that when we share our own lessons learned of overcoming adversities, we ignite a tiny spark of hope, love, connection, and community in other people. And when we ignite that spark, the whole world lights up. And that’s the Power of Investing in People”
You can connect with her on social media on her website
