Nobody Likes Me

Posted on January 29, 2019 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters

“All who hate me whisper together against me; Against me they devise my hurt, saying, ‘A wicked thing is poured out upon him, That when he lies down, he will not rise up again.’ Even my close friend, in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, Has lifted up his heel to me” — Psalm 41:7-9 (NASB)

“The hearts of the men of Israel are with Absalom.” (2 Samuel 15:12b) That must have been like a kick to the mid-section for King David to hear. It was bad enough for the King to have his own son wage war against him, but then there was his closest advisor, Ahithophel, who flipped over to the side of Absalom. He’ll even ask for 12,000 men to assist him in flushing David out so that he may kill him himself (2 Samuel 17:1-2). Well, things didn’t turn quite as Ahithophel had hoped and the end result was his own suicide.

It’s been said that Ahithophel was the grandfather of Bathsheba and may have sought to have his “pound of flesh” for what was done to Uriah the Hittite through the curse of Nathan the prophet (2 Samuel 12:10-11). In that, we may never know… but one thing that can be drawn from all this chaos is how King David chose to take his complaint to the Lord.

I recently read a blog entry from Pastor Phil Moser, from Fellowship Bible Church in Mullica Hill, NJ. For those of you familiar with 610AM, ESPN radio you may have heard him on the “Faith on the Field” show. Anyway…on this day he posted three diagnostic questions you should ask yourself when you feel underappreciated. They are rather convicting and the first one will reflect on how David responded to the betrayal of Ahithophel. “Do you talk over the offense with others more then you take it to God?” For me, guilty as charged. After reading Psalm 41, it seems that going vertical works out for David. Maybe the next time I’m wronged I’ll remember Psalm 41.

The second question is, “Do you find that you think about the offense more then the opportunity to serve?” Pastor Phil is quick to point out that Jesus focused on serving others even as the cross was on the horizon. Depending on how deep the wrong goes for me is as long as I can spend my time thinking about it and not on where I can be used effectively in ministry. Life kinda becomes selfish instead of selfless.

Given that, it gives a better punch to what we read in Philippians 2:5-8 … “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

The last question brings it home. “Do you sense your spirit drawn to complaining more that to gratitude?” When I get those “Nobody likes me” moments I gotta do better in understanding that the best way to maintain the servant spirit, like Pastor Phil noted, is to be remain forever grateful for how the Lord has served us. The apostle Paul will tell us about life’s challenges in 2 Corinthians 4 that we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. And all this should guide our focus towards this in the same chapter…

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Cor 4:16-18).

Maybe you share the struggle in that I find it difficult to be grateful to the God that saved me from my own design, especially when I am underappreciated for things I do for others. Not that I should be showered with high praise by those that I serve but that I understand I do what I do for an audience of One and to hear “Well Done, Enter In” as my only reward. So what if nobody likes me all the time, I live in a fallen world just they do but so long as my motivation in serving them is showing them I’m getting outta the way so that Jesus may be manifested through me. How about you? I hope so. Amen?

Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) has been married for 25+ years (Kathy), has a married son (Kevin) and a daughter in college (Karen). He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.

The Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 20-22 , Mark 5:21-43| You can download our 2018 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here

Daily Quote: “Ponder this: The One who powerfully created the 12 planets in our solar system, picked up the basin and towel and washed the feet of 12 prideful disciples here on earth. Miraculously, He does both tasks and never utters a word of complaint.” — Phil Moser

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21