How To Pray For Your Enemy 2003

MARCH BLOG NEWS – “…This is the last blog for the next couple of weeks while we take a break and I continue with surgery rehab. I’m about 90% there and improving every day, so all is good…”

The first couple of years as a Christian are a joyful and excitable time,  as well as having some challenges along the way, which mold us and shape us, as God takes us from the old to the new. And this doesn’t just include character changes, but family, leisure time and our work life. The latter was an experience we’d went through in 2003, when it was time to leave the old job I’d been in for years and move into a new line of work. This can also be an exciting time but for me, it was going to come with an almighty challenge.

In the closing months of working in the old job, some major issues arose resulting in the boss moving on and another takeover. This individual didn’t like me much and I think it was pretty much because I was a Christian. So, one day, this person decided to use me as an example, ride me and eventually try to have me fired. It took me a little while to pick up on what was going and the more I looked, the more I saw this person speaking behind my back, turning people against me and trying to make my life miserable at work.

In time, the big bosses got wind of this situation, believing it was caused by me, with them coming to the office to talk to me. I was so confused, I was doing most things right and making minor mistakes like everyone else, but unbeknown to me, this new boss had been talking me down. I was really in danger of losing my job and at that time we needed it. Plus, getting fired from a job didn’t look good on anyone’s resume, so we had big problems. Firstly, I decided to try and fix things myself. I was a Christian, so I was always at work on time, I was always friendly and helpful and I didn’t mind doing the extra hours.

It seemed like everything I did, just made things worse, so instead, I asked the Lord for the way forward and the word was, just submit. I knew within the scriptures that we, as Christians, are to submit to our worldly bosses whether they are good or bad, so I stopped trying to make things better and did nothing. Within a few weeks, it was my holiday time and it was a huge respite from the pressure of work, but the thought of going back was weighing on my mind. When I got back though, I could see a car in the car park with the manager of another garage. When I went in, the big boss was there and I thought stuff it if they’re going to sack me then so be it. I didn’t care.

Midmorning I was called through to the office with the big boss and the manager of the other garage, so I sat down with my coffee, with an angry and hacked off look on my face. If they wanted to argue then they were going to get an argument. Instead, my big boss opened with, we know that the boss of this branch has been lying about you and we know that you’ve been singled out as their example to fire. I was completely taken by surprise. But for that few seconds, I looked to God and I knew that submitting and doing nothing, giving it to him to fix had paid off big. I had to ask how they found out.

They’d received reports from other members of staff of what was happening, but the cherry on the cake, was this individual blaming me for something I couldn’t have possibly done because I was on holiday at the time. I was blown away and after a short chat, I was instructed just to crack on with the job and leave this individual to the bosses. Within five minutes of returning, the young boss started on me, right in front of the big boss. Next, the big boss dressed her down in typical fashion. I looked at this individual and thought boy, you’ve no idea what you’re in for.

I still had much to learn about God at that time, so as the morning wore on, I became more and more uneasy and confused. As I looked at this person, I began to feel sorry for them, knowing that being fired was the only option, so I looked to God and asked him to go easy on this person. I actually starting feeling sacred, that he might do something very severe, so again, I looked at him and prayed, asking him to go easy. It was just then when I looked up that I smiled and realized what it was I was doing, I was praying for my enemy.

BLOG BLURB – “…Despite surgery rehab, we are now producing eight social media videos each week…”