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Over 8 months ago I walked away from everyone I loved and knew my entire life. God had told me a year before that He would call my family of 5 out and away from all we knew. But we could have never guessed He meant from everything and everyone.
It was a hard decision but a decision we made based off our faith in Him. I shut down my first blog, my YouTube channel and got rid of my Facebook. I burned the bridges of those relationships solely based off their own circumstances. I didn’t know if I was doing what was right. I just knew there was a reason I was walking away and in order to find out what that was I had to “Come out from them.”
I have in my past had to walk away from toxic and bad influential relationships before. But that was over the course of my entire life. Friends and family came and went, but I always had someone new enter into my life or a reconciled relationship from years past. But not once have I or even heard of anyone walking away from every single human being you know. Besides the men in the Bible of course.
I took a step of faith even though I knew not why it had to come to this. Couldn’t I just talk to them Lord? Work it out? No. Can’t you protect these relationships and help them to become fruitful? No. Can’t I just act like everything they have done and are doing is okay? NO.
Sometimes when God calls you to do something, He does not give you the reasons why or an explanation. It is a test in our faith in Him in those moments. Do they really trust me? Do they really believe the way they say they do? Let’s see if they do when I tell them to do this!
This goes against everything you may have read or heard preach about the church doesn’t it? Forgive and let it go. Love and don’t judge. Be the light of Christ and love the sinner not the sin! Don’t be prideful, you’re not perfect either.
And while those things are true in a sense, they are not to be put with every circumstance and every relationship. And they only should be followed when the Spirit of God compels you to heed them. Let’s get real. Some relationships should have never began in the first place and you cannot love someone well when they continue to abuse, use, disrespect and harm you. And not one person deserves to be treated that way.
It turned out that God wanted me to know why I had to remove myself from them. The actions they committed against me that came after I left destroyed any doubt if I was doing the right thing. It was then I realized, when people have sick hearts and dead ones they show themselves right away when righteousness confronts them. No matter how long they try to control themselves in religion or self-help those things they hide in the dark will come to the light.
Luke 8:17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
I could not believe the betrayal of these people. I had no idea the things that they were capable of and would not have even believed it if I was not taken out of those relationships. Like David said:
Psalms 55:21 His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn sword.
The word says that one of the reasons God calls us out and away is so that we can clearly see what we were surrounded by. He showed me what was really happening, what was really going on in the hearts of those people I loved and thought loved me. When I started drawing boundaries and burning bridges with them, it showed me what was really in their hearts toward me. And once they took up offense the rest was history:
And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. Matthew 24:10-13
Although I knew every move they made behind my back and in my absence, I did not say a word to them. Because I knew the purpose of this was to show me what I didn’t know and to see why God had told me to separate myself from them. Through this change also happened in me, inner sin was exposed within myself and great strength rose up that I had no idea I could ever have. Being around these people not only hindered my walk with Christ but hindered my gifts and my own understanding of who I really was. The good and the bad.
But I had faith in the love of God. And although what they had done (which I will not say at this moment) was not only disrespectful, and betrayals that could have shaken my family and separated us, I knew that God’s love was for me and that He would protect us. I also knew that no matter what, even in standing in all of that my love would increase and so would my faith.
I refused to allow the evil that was directed towards me to stop me in my tracks for what God had for me. I wouldn’t allow it to intimidate me or change my heart so that it would become cold. No. It was the attacks made me love fiercer and stronger than ever before and drew me even closer to God.
It is amazing to see how God could take something that could have destroyed me and turn it into the very thing that created power and strength in me. But I had to let Him. At first I was angry and I was very hurt. I cried and I was tempted to fear. But I chose not to allow what they did to destroy me. I ran to God crying and asking for safety. I asked Him not to let it change my heart no matter what else they may do. No matter what to protect me and remind me of His big fullness and His ways, so I won’t forget who He is and what He is doing.
And He was faithful and did just that.
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