God Don’t Play About Me
Has there ever been a time in your life where you were being bullied, misused and/or abused and all that came out your mouth is, “I’m going to get [insert my person’s name or group of people] on you?” I never quite had that experience. For most of my life, I’ve been a peacemaker. I got along with most people and the ones I didn’t, I kept my distance. I remember when I was younger always being the one who would fake cry to get my friends to stop fighting and get along. When someone wrongs me, I strive to take the high road and try to advise my loved ones and friends to do the same.
However, sometimes the enemy uses people to get under your skin and aggravate the mess out of you in places where you can’t escape or ignore them, i.e. work. I have had several coworkers, supervisors and managers who have gotten on my everlasting nerve. Some, to the point, where they made the entire job unpleasant.
I remember working for this one manager and I absolutely hated it. So much so, that my entire attitude would change before I went to work. It was obvious favorites were being played and while it seemed that my coworkers who were always late and only did a portion of their job duties were rewarded, I was expected to work while sick and make up for the work my coworkers refused to do. Eventually, God blessed me with another job.
At another job, I began to strongly dislike working with one of my coworkers. It seemed like I was always the one doing most of the work while she used that time as easy money. It got to the point where I prayed every day before working with her. Eventually, she was fired and was replaced with coworkers who I enjoyed working with. After a while, I started to feel like I was being taken advantage of. I quit and not long after that, I had a new job.
In another job, I started feeling like my ability to help others was being taken advantage of. It became so frustrating to the point that I began to pray prior to going to work. Eventually, God blessed me with another job.
At another job, I noticed that the work environment shifted and I started feeling a difference among management. I continued to pray and gave the situation to God until He blessed me with a new opportunity.
Throughout all these stories, there is one message that I learned and gives me confidence to face any situation: GOD DOESN’T PLAY ABOUT ME. I noticed whenever people on my job were taking advantage of me, creating hostile situations or whatever else came about, I noticed that when I trusted in Him and did as He wanted me to do, He either removed me or the person causing the distress.
As I began reading and researching the Bible, I discovered that it recounted several similar stories. One story is of course about the Israelites escaping slavery in Egypt. Exodus 2:14 (NLT) states: “[The Egyptians] made the [Israelites’] lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields.” Later, in chapter 3:7-8, God responds to this oppression by telling Moses: “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them for the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey – the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live.”
Another story is about Peter escaping prison in Acts 12:3-11 (NLT):
When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration.) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him.
The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered.
So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him.
Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!”
I am writing this blog post to either remind or give encouragement to people who are feeling oppressed, misused and/or abused whether in the work environment or in another area of life. God sees your situation and He hears your cries. Trust in Him and He will bring you out. Just like He doesn’t play about me, He doesn’t play about you either.
Now, this isn’t permission to act the way you want to act and expect God to deliver you from a situation. Sometimes, there are areas you need to change or grow in before God blesses you with relief. In one of those jobs, I had to learn obedience. That just because no one else didn’t do a task, it didn’t mean that I didn’t have to do it either. In another job, I had to learn gratitude. I had to learn that despite the pressure and aggravation I was feeling at work, I should be thankful to God to be blessed with a job at all. Other times, it reaffirmed the power of prayer and faithfulness. Sometimes, I had to learn the importance of holding my tongue and being respectful.
I believe from learning these lessons and practicing these lessons is what led me out of my Egypts. Therefore, if you are facing any hardship in life, whether on the job or somewhere else in life, here are the steps I have learned to follow to help Him lead me out.
1. Go to God with your problems – all of your problems. Tell Him the highs and the lows and leave nothing out.
2. Pray for guidance. Ask Him what you should do or what you should learn from the situation.
3. Listen and obey His answer.
4. Pray for peace during the situation and find things to be thankful for. If it is a job giving you stress, be thankful for a way to provide for you and your family. If you aren’t making enough, be thankful for the amount you are making. Trust me, a little thankfulness goes a long way with God.
5. Trust in God. In each situation, there were varying lengths of time before God blessed me with the relief I sought. Sometimes, it was a few months and other times, it was over a year. God’s timing is the perfect timing. All we have to do is trust in it.
6. Pray during restlessness. In the middle of trusting, our flesh causes us to doubt. Go to God with your fears and unrest and make the decision to trust anyway.
Once you start doing this and begin to trust in God, I promise you, how God handles your situation is way better than you, Pookie and RayRay and ‘em ever could.
*This blog post reflects the author’s recollections of experiences over time. Names of individuals have been changed or omitted to respect their privacy, and some events have been compressed.
