Love, Pray, and Move Forward

"But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:44,45 NIV)

One of the reasons many of us never reach the heights of success that God has planned for us is because we get stuck--stuck in disappointments, by those who create problems for us, by inner-feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. We get stuck on getting revenge trying to avenge those situations over which we have no control and end up moving backward instead of forward. We get stuck trying to "make" people like us or pay attention to us, when they don't have to like us. We get stuck trying to control situations that are totally out of our control.

The solution to being "unstuck" in any situation--love those who love you, but love the ones who hate you as well. Pray for all--those you love and those you may not like, but you love. Keep loving and keep praying and all the while you're praying, keep moving forward. We have no control over people and what they do, but we do control what we do. We do not have to allow what others think of us-- to stop us. We do not have to allow what others do to us to hinder us. Pray--for wisdom and discernment--understand that your success is not contingent upon others liking you, but whether or not your plans are aligned with God's plans.

When people hate you--pray and smile at them. When they talk about you--pray and pray some more. When people attempt to misuse you--back away and pray for them and self. And all the while you're praying--keep moving forward, without holding onto the hurts and disappointments--keep going. Life happens and sometimes we just have to deal with it where we are. Cry, scream, get angry, but get over it quickly and move forward.

If you really want to make the enemy upset--keep smiling, keep loving, keep moving forward and never let set-backs cause you to stop moving in the direction that God has destined for you. Bless others when you need a blessing. Love others when you need to be loved. Encourage others when you need to be encouraged. Pray for others when you need someone to pray for you. And through it all--never lose sight of God's love or His plans for your life.

God knows and sees all--He will take care of us and those who have attempted to destroy us as well. He rains on the just and unjust, the righteous and the unrighteous--and all is accomplished by His design. Remember this--it takes a lot less effort and time to love than it does to hate. It is so easy to love others and so time-consuming to hate!