The Fickle Heart

“But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.” 1 Samuel 19:9-10

Everybody has lost a friend before. Whether you lost contact, grew apart, or some egregious situation drove a wedge between you, losing someone you once held dear can be difficult. But what’s even more difficult is not knowing the reason why… or even worse, not understanding what caused it. It’s easy to grasp not speaking to someone and the out of sight out of mind component coming into play. Or if there’s a fight and things just aren’t the same anymore. But how do you deal with someone loving you… and the next thing you know, all they have is Anger and Hate for you?

David experienced this with King Saul. Saul loved David to the point of letting him live in his home, nurturing the friendship between David and his son, and even giving him his daughter to marry. But things changed when Saul began to feel threatened by David’s presence. People were starting to notice how “Kingly” David was and his rise in stature with the people make Saul question how much he could afford to keep David around.

Have you experienced that before? Someone who once said they loved you putting a target on your back because your elevation became a threat to them? How do you deal with someone so fickle hearted? How do you protect yourself from that kind of betrayal? Let me affirm you as you move forward and embark that.

Affirmation 1: Your win is your win… no matter who has to take the L. We spend so much time not wanting to walk in our shine because we’re afraid of who we will lose because of it. Stop doing that. It’s not your fault if someone else can’t stand on the pedestal with you or when their time to shine has expired. Are you really prepared to have less than you deserve because you don’t want to hurt someone else’s feelings?

Affirmation 2: Real friends shine together. I’ll never forget being notified about an opportunity and nervously telling my friend about it, because I didn’t know if they would be able to have the same opportunity. When I tell you they were THRILLED for me in a way I didn’t think I deserved? Like over the top excited to the point where they said they didn’t even want it for themselves the way they wanted it for me. That’s friendship. That’s love. Being able to be happy for someone else’s successes like they’re your own. A real friend is going to shine with you even when their light has to dim a bit for it to be possible.

Affirmation 3: The steps have already been ordered you just have to take them. It wasn’t your decision to have the success and opportunities placed before you. God did that. He decided who you would be and where you would go and all you have to do is follow the path. He knew which friends would be life long and which would be seasonal and He let you meet them anyway. Embrace it and go forth in you shine.

What I want you to take from this today is that emotions can get the best of us if we don’t learn to keep them in control. Anger and Love are very strong feelings, but can be fleeting. Don’t let the way you love be affected by the fickle heart of another. Don’t let your light be dimmed because you’re afraid it won’t make someone else happy. Your quality of life is most deeply impacted by your choices and the way you choose to respond to others. So choose you. I love you, and I’m rooting for you. Keep conquering!