I’m sure it was the wrong attitude to have, but I had absolutely zero intention of posting or sharing any thoughts surrounding the current events. However, the Lord pricked my heart with some thoughts that I just could not keep to myself. It’s my belief that fear and misunderstanding create the perfect ground for negative and fleshly desires—one of which is hate—to grow. it’s no secret that there has been an environment of fear and anxiety secondary to COVID-19. I’m not going to pretend to understand politics, because it’s just not in my wheelhouse. I’m also not going to pretend that the issues we are currently facing haven’t been happening all along without being brought to light.

What I do see is that a lot of pent-up stress energy and fear have given Satan a foothold, which turned into a stronghold, which he can use to turn fear of one thing into hatred of another. There will always eventually be an outlet for our emotions, even if it ends up in transference. Again, I’m not saying that there weren’t things bubbling beneath the surface all along, but rather that the situation with uncertainty and fear of the future has amplified things.

Scripture says that perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). The only way we overcome this is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). If we love the Lord first with all of our being, we will make choices in alignment with His perfect love and not our own flawed human understanding of love. It is only from that place that we are then able to die to self in order to love others in the way that He calls us to.

Just like anything difficult, the only way around is through. What we continue to deny only gives Satan more power. When things are brought to light, it removes shame and fear and kills his ability to fester those into the soul sickness of hate which grows in the darkness. Change doesn’t come easy, and it won’t happen if we turn a blind eye to ways we may unknowingly or knowingly be contributing. Scripture also says that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). May we all be willing to do the work of honestly reflecting on our own thoughts and attitudes. If we see anything that needs to die, then we must also be willing to do the work of uprooting it and replacing it with things that are lovely and pure and please the heart of God (Philippians 4:8).

|Kaci