You know that feeling you get in your heart when you're scrolling on IG and you see what appears to be happiness on the face of someone who has hurt you, betrayed you, talked about you, stirred negativity in your life or forsaken you?

You know that feeling of uneasiness in your stomach when they post about their new promotion? or job offer or new home? Or maybe a caption they used that completely contradicts the version of them you've experienced?

I don't believe it's unjustified to not want to immediately clap for them when you see them getting blessed. I think that makes sense that when you see someone who has hurt you in the past being happy that you might feel to get defensive. Because why should they be happy and be blessed when they mistreated me?

Why would God bless them with this guy that completely fits 'my type' description or something I wanted when they mistreated me? Why does it seem like God allowed this to be set up in such a way that I HAD to see them get blessed after they hurt me? What kind of God does that?

A good, good father is the kind of God that does that.

I encourage you to drop your guard right now and let this word of encouragement live in your life. You know how many times I've been placed in these situations with being mistreated and watching them get blessed or watching God give someone something I wanted? Too many to remember. Why would He do this?

So you can be free.

God wanted my heart to be free because "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8). He didn't want my heart to have to live at the mercy of what the people around me. He didn't want my heart to have to live at the mercy of what things I have or don't have. He didn't want me to have to live at the mercy of what was in His hand.

He wanted my heart to be pure so that I can see Him. When I see Him then I'm able to hear Him, see how He wants to use me and perform my part in His will.

As God, in his goodness, has wrestled with me to get this understand I have gained this indescribable freedom in the face of people that have mistreated me, betrayed me, talked about me, attempted to speak negativity over me or forsaken me. I've decided to live by what God says to me so when I see people win I can cheer for them now even if they have hurt me.

I LIVE in this, therefore, Haters can't have my heart because it belongs to God. I refuse to allow anyone hating on me to have my heart. I refuse to live in bitterness and allow my mood or perspective to be set by negativity because my heart belongs to God.

So even when someone talks about me and I see them win, envy and revenge can't have my heart because my heart belongs to God. So when an opportunity comes to have fear, it can't have my heart because it belongs to God.

So when you do me wrong, or try to incite me to get upset or try to come out of character by playing dirty, I'm going to LIVE by what God said because you can't have me. You can't have my heart. You can't have my joy or my peace. You can't have my faith.