Love Worketh No Ill Romans 13

7     ¶ Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
8     Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9     For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10     Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

You hear people say, "Don't let negative people ruin your day", but the fact of the matter is, if we are plugged in to GOD, and we have our spiritual armor on, then how can they?

What the truth is, is that we get caught off guard!  We are not plugged in to God.  We've been less than close to Him that day.  We don't have anything to give others, we don't even WANT to give anything to others.  We're in a selfish state, and we don't even have enough for ourselves.

I'm as guilty as you are.  I don't think about getting spiritual armor on.  I'm in the kitchen busy making breakfast, just like you.  Oh, I read the Bible! I pray and do all that fancy stuff.  "Read til it feels good".  "Pray til you hear from the Lord"...

But, as the day goes by, I see worldly people, worldly things, and get worldly and selfish ideas.   Someone was rude to me and I took it to heart.  My mind got less and less about helping God out and others out, and I started feeling vulnerable.  When you feel vulnerable, you start looking for others to help and support you. ;-)

Then, when they can't "be enough" (and they never can, because only God can), then you feel deflated.  Then, that's when satan hits you with both barrels loaded.  That's when satan knocks your socks off by having the negative person come around and get you started.

They may be sucking you dry with their tales of woe, or maybe they're false assumptions of what you did or said, or didn't do (whatever gets your goat), come into play.

You feel even more vulnerable, because you honestly realize you have no power over that other person, and their negativity.

By this time, you just want to cry, run home, and take a hot bath, and go to sleep crying and hope that tomorrow is somehow better.

Are there any steps and precautionary tactics we can try out in the morning that would also work as the day goes on, and as our body gives out on us?

Sure!  But, we usually don't go to God all throughout the day, do we?  Something in our conscience tells us that we don't deserve His ear.  Something we want more than to pray.  Some sins we're doing right then, or plan to do later.  Some cherished thought we're not ready to fess up about.  We don't fess up to God when we don't feel any conviction about sin, either.

The hardest thing for me is, when I know I'm right with God, I don't have any problem praying.  That's the day that satan puts someone across my patht hat rubs me the wrong way.  If I know I'm not right with God, it's all gone, anyway, so why bother?  Especially if I am not truly sorry for my sins, then why be a hypocrite about it and ask God to forgive them? ;-)

Hypocrite or not, we have to stick to the plan.  I can't stand it when people are "rule" people and it outshines being "People" people.  But, those rule people, living their life in a methodical way are safe.  I still believe that people should come before rules, though, (and NOT just the people you like more. )   ;-)

I believe 100% that I'm someone who would run away within ONE WEEK if I wore my feelings on my shoulder all the time.  I get accused of it by others, but they obviously haven't walked a mile in my shoes!  It would be a lot harder for them to judge me if they knew just how much I deal with on a daily basis.

But, I am not in competition with the greats, I am just sure that experience, and failures, and victories have led me to a place where I definitely don't take everything to heart the way I once did.

Until God calls us home, we're stuck here.  Having some life skills might be a good idea.