Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8
This morning I stopped myself from feeling envy. Envy for missing out on something I already had.
Itās been on my mind as others point to envy, jealously, or resentful desire as the engine driving āsocial justiceā.
What is envy? Displeasure produced by witnessing the advantage or prosperity of someone else.
This displeasure leads to unnecessary rivalries and grudges that end in unhappiness. Not just for the envious, but for the envied as well.
It is a plague, which is spreading across this planet. Focusing its destructive intent on anyone with talent, success, or even just a different way of doing things.
As mentioned yesterday Iāve been returning to the prophetic books. Now re-reading the book of Daniel.
And Daniel loved God deeply, he always prayed. The king loved him because he was efficient in what he did, so envious political enemies plotted to destroy him.
They devised a clever trick to entrap him and threw him to the lions to be devoured, but God delivered him in a profound and miraculous way.
And for every evil deed there is always a repercussion.
These days seem dark, with a closing window of hope. But we can always trust in God.
For while we may witness the envious deploy evil, destructive tricks, we might not be privy to the ways in which they receive their consequence.
God Wins
Bears repeatingāthe comments from you are the best thing about this letter. Each of you make me stronger and smarter. Thank you.
One of my prayers is to have faith Like Daniel. Always be prepared to accept your prayers though. Because to have faith like Daniel requires being tested.
You are such a good human. I love the transparency in your posts. I think we all struggle with envy. The Lord dealt with me in one instance ( and more ) but this one stuck out. I had a friend who was a trust fund baby( she recently passed away and I miss her š„²) . She didnāt have to worry about any financial aspects of life. She would come over to my small house, from her giant mansion and tell me how she only had $$ ( a large amount) in her checking account. She wasnāt bragging she honestly was disturbed by this. I was freelance and struggling to pay my electric bill. I had envy and I would say ā God this isnāt fairā ... and I would go down the list of all the good things I have done for God š. My friend was my greatest real- life teacher - God placed her there. He had to get this envy out of me which was not lovely. He showed me what a child I was, like not the curiosity child but the temper tantrum child. Once I realized He gave me riches too- in the struggle, more than any finances could ever buy, I was humbled. She lived across the street and she came to me to talk in my tiny house, amongst my old cabinets and wood laminate floor. It wasnāt location that mattered - it was our hearts. She was beautiful, I was beautiful- we were beautiful together and the struggles were the same, regardless of the conditions. And I had to stop trying so hard to win Gods favor. He loves me as is and thereās nothing I could ever do to make him love me more. His loved moved first towards me and it never stopped.
The girl In the window art is šÆ. She is all of us. Thank you for your creativity and words. You inspire! I need to read Daniel again too - Ty.
One of my prayers is to have faith Like Daniel. Always be prepared to accept your prayers though. Because to have faith like Daniel requires being tested.
You are such a good human. I love the transparency in your posts. I think we all struggle with envy. The Lord dealt with me in one instance ( and more ) but this one stuck out. I had a friend who was a trust fund baby( she recently passed away and I miss her š„²) . She didnāt have to worry about any financial aspects of life. She would come over to my small house, from her giant mansion and tell me how she only had $$ ( a large amount) in her checking account. She wasnāt bragging she honestly was disturbed by this. I was freelance and struggling to pay my electric bill. I had envy and I would say ā God this isnāt fairā ... and I would go down the list of all the good things I have done for God š. My friend was my greatest real- life teacher - God placed her there. He had to get this envy out of me which was not lovely. He showed me what a child I was, like not the curiosity child but the temper tantrum child. Once I realized He gave me riches too- in the struggle, more than any finances could ever buy, I was humbled. She lived across the street and she came to me to talk in my tiny house, amongst my old cabinets and wood laminate floor. It wasnāt location that mattered - it was our hearts. She was beautiful, I was beautiful- we were beautiful together and the struggles were the same, regardless of the conditions. And I had to stop trying so hard to win Gods favor. He loves me as is and thereās nothing I could ever do to make him love me more. His loved moved first towards me and it never stopped.
The girl In the window art is šÆ. She is all of us. Thank you for your creativity and words. You inspire! I need to read Daniel again too - Ty.