Enemy in the Camp

How do you feel about your current circle of friends, family, and/or colleagues?  Do you trust everyone with whom you interact each day?  Or, do you have one or two people you're just not sure you can trust?  In other words, who's in your camp?  Friend or foe? Or, maybe both? You're looking at a few people with unspoken uncertainty in your heart, but in honor of giving all humanity the benefit of the doubt, you maintain cordial interactions and go about your day and life.  After awhile, however, you start to notice the hushed side conversations and the undercurrents of malicious intent, revealed through subtle, but increasingly evident disdain on their parts.  Before you know it, you're being falsely accused and complained about without cause (Psalm 71:10). It's an interesting experience, and one I went through not long ago in a workplace environment.  A year ago, three members of my work family at that time, collaborated on about five pages of formal complaints against yours truly.  

 - Allow me to interrupt myself here and say that not a single one of them still works there today. - 

I don't say that in pride, because for a time, I was down, out, and totally discouraged by the character assassination, but ya girl rose from those ashes, and I stand stronger today, but them? Like the grains of sand on an ocean shore, the memory of each of those individuals has been washed away with the hurricane level currents of God's love and justice. I hope all three of these people can swim, but for now, I simply want to share what I've learned through the experience of dealing with evil people at worst, and misguided individuals at best.  When you spot an enemy in your own camp, practice the pause. Take a step back. Pray. Ask God to show you whether to remain still (Psalm 46:10) so that He can fight the battle for you (2 Chronicles 20:15), or whether to charge ahead and use your metaphorical Davidic stones to slay your Goliath. Know that when you're meant to see the truth of who's for you and who's against you, God will show you the enemy in your camp. 

 

For the last couple of years, I've been a Consultant to a non-profit agency in the greater Los Angeles area, and it's an organization I truly love.  From the owners to the staff, to the heart and mission of the agency, I am truly blessed to be a part of their family. I love the work I do for them and I am grateful to be able to call them members of my extended family.  That said, a year ago, several newer staff joined the organization, and as I stepped back into a lesser role following a death in my family, the new employees formed a strong bond with each other over their mutual disdain for guess who?  Ding, ding, ding - you got it - this girl!

                  

Being someone who generally gets along great with others, I was blindsided by the depth of animosity I learned that they felt towards me.  At the unveiling of their hate campaign, my initial response was pain.  I hurt when I read their words and I even cried.  I was so taken aback because although I'd set boundaries with each of them regarding their role and mine, I never was able to pinpoint any one thing I'd done that would have justified or warranted such a mean-spirited attack.  So, the tears fell...until the anger set in. 

 When I learned of their calculated back door character assassination, I didn't have to make the decision of whether to remain still or go in and fight because the owners made the call for me by asking me to steer clear of the office and work from home. Fortunately, they knew me well enough to realize that if I stepped into the mix, my own anger would have made the situation worse. It has taken me years to be able to practice that pause, reign in the crazy when my anger gets out of check, and to just be still while trusting God to work it all out.  I do a decent job of it in most circumstances now, but that particular situation tested me to my core and threatened to bring out a pre-Jesus version of me.  I wanted to fight back, but God said "be still" (Psalm 46:10).  I wanted to lash out and defend myself, but the Spirit whispered Deuteronomy 1:30 in my heart that says "The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you.." My hands wanted to throw punches and shut their mouths myself, but Jesus gently spoke truth into my core from Romans 12:19 that says "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay,' says the Lord." In my angst to see the situation resolved, I reminded God that Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is "a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." (and I was ready for war!) God, however, did not need my help, nor would my own interventions of retaliation and matched energy have solved anything.  On the contrary, I would likely have been washed away in the hurricane waves of God's justice too had I not followed the wise counsel of the agency's owners and the Holy Spirit. 

                                      Video Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=johgSkNj3-A

What's the point? The point is this - sometimes, you don't need to rise up and defend yourself because God will defend you through His own means. It may not happen the same day you get attacked or dishonored, but when the time is right, God will right the wrong (Isaiah 60:22).  You really do need only to be still (Psalm 46:10) and trust His timing, His ways, and His heart for you as His child (Isaiah 43:1). The greatest lesson I learned through that valley of adversity was to let God be my judge and vindicator. Let God set records straight, and let God take out the trash when the trash starts getting heavy with senseless chatter and foul odor.  When you learn of an enemy in your own camp, take the time to pray, ask, seek, and knock on God's door first (Matthew 7:7-12) so you can discern who is meant to stay and who is meant to go.  He will show you, friend, and when the old you attempts to rise up through flesh you already crucified (Galatians 5:24), take a deep breath in and then exhale.  Let it go.  Release the need to see a certain outcome to the One who cultivates outcomes for us all.  God can do a better job than you can at doing HIS job.  Let Him work.  He will defend your cause and make your righteousness shine (Psalm 37:6), and if that wasn't enough, He will prepare a table for you in the presence of the very enemies (Psalm 23:5) sent to destroy you.  So, trust the process, and as a final thought - lift those enemies up in prayer and ask God to bless them.  Matthew 5:44-45 says to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Is it easy?  Definitely not.  I almost choke on the verse every time I have to lift someone in prayer who has done me wrong, but guess what? That's our standard as followers of Christ.  If we don't like it, we can walk the broad path with the rest of the world who takes vengeance into their own hands, but I strongly caution against it if you don't want to make matters worse.  Been falsely accused? Betrayed by a seeming loved one? Dealing with an unfair lawsuit?  Whatever the attack in this moment - Let God be the chess player when your enemy comes against you, and trust that when you need to know, God will remove the enemy in your camp too.