Hi
So I been feeling like I have been taken advanntage of at times: used if I must use the right word and if I must be honest that does not feel nice. The realisation that this could be true just jabs your heart and the whole mix of emotions that floods your heart is really quite unpleasant.
Am I angry, am I disappointed? Well to be honest, yes. Because really its not how I’d want to relate to people and i’d rather just have happy honest and open relationships throughout. Is this an experience that a lot of us share? Well based on the encounters and conversations I have had with people this is quite a common phenomena and the sad part that I have seen to be true is we run away from those that do care into the arms of those who see us more for an opportunity to get what they want and not as equals or people to genuinely care about. So as I was r thinking about this and realising this, I found myself what is the sort of way forward I want to have with such a person? How do I respond?
And amongst several options; i came to a conclusion. The best thing I can do for anyone who has used me is to pray for them; to bear nno grudge but to have the same attitude that Jesus had as He hung naked on the cross for me, which is to say, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do.” I do not intend to sound super spiritual or anything but I honestly believe that this is the case. You cannot give what you do not have; and God is love. If anyone has never really allowed themselves to receive the love of God, they cannot give it out. And if you do not know the love of God, you neither know who you really are, nor how much value you as an individual has and neither do you know the value of the other person next to you. And if you do not know the love of God, you cannot have any peace in your heart.
I came to understand that in all the use and abuse people do towards one another, it all stems from an unawareness of the love of God for them. In addition or as a buffer to this, I was also convicted that the best scenario that I would want after time (t) is for them to know God, to break free of all the chains, to be free to love and to be giving in their relationships towards others and not just taking. And to be honest yes, an apology would be nice though I would not say necessary.
My response then becomes to pray for them; to be the intercessor with God on their behalf to see them restored back to wholeness and to the love and knowledge of the Father. I hope that for you as well if you have been used, whatever it may have been, emotional, financial or sexual you find the grace of God to respond in forgiveness and in love. I also encourage you to decide well, protect your heart from bitterness and forgive for by so doing you will enjoy life and you invite God who can bring the most sweet of reconciliation if needed to come in and do so.
And as a final note, I guess I want to take the time to say publicly to my family, to my friends and to everyone around me who loves me genuinely thank you for who you are and who you have been to me. I am most grateful and could not be here where I am without you. If I have been unlovely to deal with, withdrawn and difficult in the face of your love, I am truly sorry.
And may God bless you all.