Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.
(Psalms 27:6a)

There are times when the world seems to come down all around us.  Accusations and innuendoes are flying all around you.  Some of them being partly true and other completely false.  Occasions like these will show us with whom to put our trust.

You may be trying to do good and the world will tell you that you are doing badly.  When you are trying to do the right thing, those around you will say to you that you are doing wrong.   When you are trying to give your best, those close to you will demand even more.  There does not seem to be anywhere to run, yet God is always our fortress.

When we are actually doing badly, God gives us the Gospel to show us how to be good.  When we are wrong, God grants us his grace to help us to do right.  When we are not giving our best, the Lord reveals to us his son, who teaches us how to do better. Whereas the world tries to revile you, God works with you to lovingly correct you.

The Devil actively seeks to distort reality, manipulate and condemn you. God accepts you just as you are, but he loves you enough to help you be better.   God sees you not as you are, but as you can be.  Therefore, he has great hope for you.

What you focus upon, you become.  If you dwell on the trash the world says about you, it will eventually bring you down.  If you gaze at a kind and just God, it will transform you. Mother Theresa once said, “It was never between you and them anyway.”  It’s between you and God.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]