Pain, rejection, and fear can tempt you to resent those who have hurt you. But hating anyone, including yourself, is agreeing with the enemy’s manic obsession for people to be separated from God—forgetting his love, and their identity in him.
The enemy of your soul loves when you agree with his judgments of your relationships and circumstances. If he can get you to hate even one person like he does, it’s much easier to get you to give in to a negativism that interprets your whole life in bitterness, self-pity, and hopelessness.
You can’t change your history, but you can stop carrying the weight of it on your shoulders. If it feels as if you’ve been losing hope, and your joy has been getting crushed, don’t despair, and don’t give in. If you’ll let him, God will deal with your pain, frustrations, and fears, and replace them with his grace, truth, and love. He’ll fill your heart with joy again, and renew your mind so completely with peace that hopelessness and hate will have nothing to hold on to.
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Equip Your Spirit 