If you have walked with God for any length of time and have really sought truth then you have necessarily come face to face with the Devil. Unfortunately, much of the time the Devil uses people closest to you, brethren and even family, who claim to follow God and love you but do not. These are not just people who make mistakes but rather deceived souls who have given themselves to wholeheartedly and consciously carry out evil against you and then slept soundly at night.
I have been in two “church” movements that have crashed…badly. These two groups, one large, one rather insignificant, that did true evil to me and my family. The pastors and their assistants were pawns of the devil, but evidently knew it not or else simply did not care.
I remember a counselor at a certain church who was responsible for doing real evil to me and my family. After the church broke up, some years later at a reunion, I saw him sitting on a bench. He now wore a beard and looked really sad and miserable. I guess others at the reunion may not have been very kind to him now that he had no authority.
I sat down by him. He looked at me and I looked at him. I said to him, ” John, I know you did what you thought was right at the time. I want you to know that I forgive you.” I could see the surprise in his eyes. It is important to forgive because I, for one, really want the forgiveness of my Father. Forgiving him also freed me from the anger and hate I felt towards him and others who had been unkind to me on the church staff.
I have come to the point, now, that I have decided to put these events and people behind me. I do not wish to expose them, rail against them, or even see judgement come to them. It is really not even worth my time and effort to do so. They and the evil they did really do not matter in my life anymore and, because they are not led by His Spirit, they have no part in the coming move of God. Yes, I have came to know the underbelly of the church and human nature through their ungodly conduct but, to my present and future walk with God, they are irrelevant. I just pray, in the name of Jesus, that I never act like they did to me to anyone else.
What I wish to do is focus on the Holy Spirit and what He wants me to do. I am consciously putting these events and people behind me so that I can concentrate of the moving of God’s Spirit. I need God and I don’t want their malfeasance to hinder me or others in any way, shape, or form.
I know the Judge of the whole earth will do right. I leave it all in my Father’s righteous hands.
Sincerely,
Michael King
Play: Come To the Quiet by John Michael Talbot
