Pam Padgett - teacher
A couple years ago a woman, Carol, misjudged me and verbally attacked me
because I was helping my next-door neighbor who was in a rehab
hospital. Recently I received an email from her asking for the
telephone number of a landscaper.
When I received her email which was sent in the middle of the day I
wondered why she sent an email instead of just calling me on the
telephone. The Holy Spirit was pointing out to me that she didn't want to
talk to me, but I quickly dismissed this by rationalizing that she and her
husband are living at their cabin in the mountains (this really has nothing to do with the matter).
The following day the Holy Spirit led Joan to call to point out that
Carol didn't want to talk with me. As I said out loud that Carol
and her husband are in the mountains, I started seeing that this was an
excuse and added ... "but she has a cell phone".
She could have called, but the truth is that Carol sent an email because she didn't want to talk to me, but I didn't want to see this.
As Joan and I spoke a couple times during the day, it came out that I
didn't want to see that Carol doesn't want to talk to me because, to me,
this indicated there was a problem, something wrong with me. Joan was reminded of what
we're told in 1 John 4:5-6 ...
1John 4:5 They
are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world
heareth them. 6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.
Carol doesn't want to speak with me because she is of the world and I am
of God.
I have also been reminded that Jesus said ....
John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Somehow I didn't have these things straight in me.