1
/
of
1
Maryam Kirschbaum
MY ENEMIES I KNOW, GOD DELIVER ME FROM MY FRIENDS
MY ENEMIES I KNOW, GOD DELIVER ME FROM MY FRIENDS
Regular price
$0.99 USD
Regular price
Sale price
$0.99 USD
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Quantity
Couldn't load pickup availability
CHAPTER ONE
INDEED, GOD IS GOOD
When going out to play as a child, my grandmother will warn thus: "Stay clear of house this and that, stay clear of the trees belonging to so and so and stay clear of the children of A and B." I knew what she meant and understood her very well. With time, some changes might occur and she would add their names or remove them from the enemies list.
This was life in a small town where we all knew each other.
One day an incident happened that made my grandmother to change her prayer on the subject. It was the season when tree branches were heavy with fruits. We collected as many fruits as our petite clothes could carry.
But, later in the day my grandmother received a very angry visitor. He owned the area and the trees we just plucked our fruits. He was very angry, demanding that we return all the fruits, clean-up the whole area and pay some restitution. My grandmother tried to explain but this man also let her know how important he was in the community and how he can have us all arrested. She went on her knees and began to plead. Bringing out all she sold from her little store, she offered him the money and he took all. My grandmother went with me to sweep up the leaves that fell from the trees. When she asked if I as the only one, I told her that one of my friends actually said it was okay to pluck the fruits. So, we matched to the house of the friend. Her parents called her out to us. She denied everything. The interesting part of this was that, this friend and her family where able to convince the owner that it was none of her fault.
After it all, I was grounded for going out to play for some time. When she finally allowed me to go out and play, she changed her warning to me. It became: "Careful, your enemies you know, may God deliver you from your friends."
Time and time again this warning has always proved itself in the life of many of us. Yes, we know our enemies. Yes, we know where they live. Yes, we know how they even operate their affairs but how about our friends?
There are several cases in the Bible regarding events such as these. We shall try to examine just few as they are many.
The psalmist cried out: "My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long." Psalm 38:11-12.
If you examine the whole situation about life, it is worth saying that God is good. Why? For many of us have passed and encountered more enemies as friends in our life time and we are still able to talk about it. Whichever way you look at it, God is indeed good. If not for the goodness of God, who can say that a friend is good today and will be bad tomorrow or otherwise? Really, who can say? You may have a bad friend today who means evil for you and the friend's mind suddenly change to either go out of your way or be good to you. This is something that is an enigma, it is mystery. I have often asked the Lord about these type of issues and it still leads to one route. Which is, God deliver me from my friends for my enemies, I know. Just as I explained in my personal experience as a child. My grandmother did all she could, categorized those who did not like our family and asked me to avoid them. Yet, in a way that only a child could be blamed, I walked into the field of a person who does not like my family. Even as an adult, we still have this trap and still try to find solution to keeping only good people around you.
But again, who defines good or bad? In the nursing school, I was worried about friends and continued to ask the Lord to lead me to a classmate that will be disciplined in studying. The very first day, I sat beside a young lady who was an Iraq veteran. We became instant friends. Through her discipline as a solider, I developed the endurance of studying for many hours. On the other hand, she informed me that she wanted a partner who had experience in the nursing field and could examine issues more deeply. Somehow, we found ourselves and that was how we trudged through the hassles, failures and successes of becoming a nurse.
Some people are in jail and in despair at this moment because they encountered a friend like an enemy. This is the worst of their kind because this friend is supposed to know you in and out.
INDEED, GOD IS GOOD
When going out to play as a child, my grandmother will warn thus: "Stay clear of house this and that, stay clear of the trees belonging to so and so and stay clear of the children of A and B." I knew what she meant and understood her very well. With time, some changes might occur and she would add their names or remove them from the enemies list.
This was life in a small town where we all knew each other.
One day an incident happened that made my grandmother to change her prayer on the subject. It was the season when tree branches were heavy with fruits. We collected as many fruits as our petite clothes could carry.
But, later in the day my grandmother received a very angry visitor. He owned the area and the trees we just plucked our fruits. He was very angry, demanding that we return all the fruits, clean-up the whole area and pay some restitution. My grandmother tried to explain but this man also let her know how important he was in the community and how he can have us all arrested. She went on her knees and began to plead. Bringing out all she sold from her little store, she offered him the money and he took all. My grandmother went with me to sweep up the leaves that fell from the trees. When she asked if I as the only one, I told her that one of my friends actually said it was okay to pluck the fruits. So, we matched to the house of the friend. Her parents called her out to us. She denied everything. The interesting part of this was that, this friend and her family where able to convince the owner that it was none of her fault.
After it all, I was grounded for going out to play for some time. When she finally allowed me to go out and play, she changed her warning to me. It became: "Careful, your enemies you know, may God deliver you from your friends."
Time and time again this warning has always proved itself in the life of many of us. Yes, we know our enemies. Yes, we know where they live. Yes, we know how they even operate their affairs but how about our friends?
There are several cases in the Bible regarding events such as these. We shall try to examine just few as they are many.
The psalmist cried out: "My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long." Psalm 38:11-12.
If you examine the whole situation about life, it is worth saying that God is good. Why? For many of us have passed and encountered more enemies as friends in our life time and we are still able to talk about it. Whichever way you look at it, God is indeed good. If not for the goodness of God, who can say that a friend is good today and will be bad tomorrow or otherwise? Really, who can say? You may have a bad friend today who means evil for you and the friend's mind suddenly change to either go out of your way or be good to you. This is something that is an enigma, it is mystery. I have often asked the Lord about these type of issues and it still leads to one route. Which is, God deliver me from my friends for my enemies, I know. Just as I explained in my personal experience as a child. My grandmother did all she could, categorized those who did not like our family and asked me to avoid them. Yet, in a way that only a child could be blamed, I walked into the field of a person who does not like my family. Even as an adult, we still have this trap and still try to find solution to keeping only good people around you.
But again, who defines good or bad? In the nursing school, I was worried about friends and continued to ask the Lord to lead me to a classmate that will be disciplined in studying. The very first day, I sat beside a young lady who was an Iraq veteran. We became instant friends. Through her discipline as a solider, I developed the endurance of studying for many hours. On the other hand, she informed me that she wanted a partner who had experience in the nursing field and could examine issues more deeply. Somehow, we found ourselves and that was how we trudged through the hassles, failures and successes of becoming a nurse.
Some people are in jail and in despair at this moment because they encountered a friend like an enemy. This is the worst of their kind because this friend is supposed to know you in and out.
Share
