The evening of the day I was suspended from work I spoke with one of my coworkers on the phone. Knowing that this was a double edged sword for me, blessed I was taken out of a stressful situation, yet at the same time unjustly treated. My coworker said tonight when we are off the phone we will read Psalms 35 together at 9pm. The bold faced lines are the ones that stuck out to me the most:
Psalms 35
1 Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield and buckler;
arise and come to my aid.
3 Brandish spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
"I am your salvation."
4 May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7 Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
and delight in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim,
"Who is like you, O LORD ?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them."
11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good
and leave my soul forlorn.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
attackers gathered against me when I was unaware.
They slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked [b] ;
they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 O Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among throngs of people I will praise you.
19 Let not those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
let not those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They gape at me and say, "Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it."
22 O LORD, you have seen this; be not silent.
Do not be far from me, O Lord.
23 Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, O LORD my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!"
or say, "We have swallowed him up."
26 May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, "The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant."
28 My tongue will speak of your righteousness
and of your praises all day long.
Let me break this down in order of how it has happened.
vs19 They gloat over me without cause. My boss since day 1 has had an extra eye on me. I've been singled out and received different treatment from my coworkers. She has pulled others in the office to ask about me. When others have been complained about she asks if I am one of them. I'm not sure why I am her enemy. The only thing I can think of is that I am a Christian, and she is a lesbian, recovering alcoholic, and with a mother that wants nothing to do with her.
Vs 11 They ask me questions I know nothing of. I was being told you did this, this, and this. Wow! I knew I had done my job properly within policy and had no answer or detailed defense other then to explain how I had done it properly.
vs 28 I will sing praises all day long. As soon as she suspended me from work I had never felt so much joy over such a stressful situation before. I was so happy and relieved that I had that day off.
vs8-9 The net set out for others they get entangled in themselves. As soon as my boss decided to terminate me, she went went home sick. Later that day she underwent an emergency surgery. The week after returning to work she would find out she had more health issues that she knew nothing of.
Vs 24 The vindication. I met with her boss on Tuesday, currently I am praying for my fair vindication. To be continued......
Before I continue on I want you to read the following story from chapter 4 of John Ortberg's book, If You Want To Walk on Water Then You Have To Get Out of The Boat.
One of my favorite adventures in prayer involves Doug Coe, who has a ministry in Washington D.C. that mostly involves people in politics and statecraft. Doug became acquainted with Bob, an insurance salesman who was completely unconnected with any government circles. Bob became a Christian and began to meet with Doug to learn about his new faith.
One day, Bob came in all excited about a statement in the bible where Jesus says, “Ask whatever you will in my name, and you shall receive it.”
“Is that really true?” Bob demanded.
Doug explained, “Well, it’s not a blank cheque. You have to take it in context of the teachings of the whole scripture and prayer. But yes- it really is true. Jesus really does answer prayer.”
“Great!” Bob said. Then I gotta start praying for something. I think I’ll pray for Africa.”
“That’s kind of a broad target. Why don’t you narrow it down to one country?” Doug advised.
“All right. I’ll pray for Kenya.”
“Do you know anyone in Kenya?” Doug asked.
“No.”
“Ever been to Kenya?”
“No.” Bob just wanted to pray for Kenya.
So Doug made an unusual arrangement. He challenged Bob to pray for six months for Kenya. If Bob would do that and nothing extraordinary happened, Doug would pay him five hundred dollars. But if something remarkable did happen, Bob would pay Doug five hundred dollars. And if Bob did not pray every day, the whole deal was off. It was a pretty unusual prayer program, but then Doug is a creative guy.
Bob began to pray, and for a long while nothing happened. Then one night he was at a dinner in Washington. The people around the table explained what they did for a living. One woman said she helped run orphanage in Kenya - the largest of its kind.
Bob saw five hundred dollars suddenly sprout wings and begin to fly away. But he could not keep quiet. Bob roared to life. He has not said much up to this point, and now he pounded her relentlessly with question after question.
“You’re obviously very interested in my country, “the woman said to Bob, overwhelmed by his sudden barrage of questions. “You’ve been to Kenya before?”
“No.”
“The how do you happen to be so curious?”
“Well, someone is kind of paying me five hundred dollars to pray……”
She asked Bob if he would like to come visit Kenya and tour the orphanage. Bob was eager to go; he would have left that very night if he could.
When Bob arrived in Kenya, he was appalled by the poverty and the lack of basic health care. Upon returning to Washington, he couldn’t get this palace out of his mind. He began to write to large pharmaceutical companies, describing to them the vast need he had seen. He reminded then that every year they would throw away large amounts of medical supplies that went unsold. “Why not send them to this place in Kenya?” he asked.
And some of them did. This orphanage received more than a million dollars’ worth of medical supplies.
The woman called Bob up and said, “Bob, this is amazing! We’ve had the most phenomenal gifts because of the letters you wrote. We would like to fly you back over and have a big party. Will you come?”
So Bob flew back to Kenya. While he was there, the president of Kenya came to the celebration, because it was the largest orphanage in the country, and offered to take Bob on a tour of Nairobi, the capital city. In the course of the tour they saw a prison. Bob asked about a group of prisoners there.
“They’re political prisoners,” he was told.
“That’s a bad idea,” Bob said brightly. “You should let them out.”
Bob finished the tour and flew back home. Sometimes later, Bob received a phone call from the State Department of the United States government:
“Is this Bob?”
“Yes.”
“Were you recently in Kenya?”
“Yes.”
“Did you make any statements to the presidents about political prisoners?”
“Yes.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him he should let them out.”
The State Department officials explained that the department had been working for years to get the release of these prisoners, to no avail. Normal diplomatic channels and political maneuverings had led to a dead end. But now the prisoners had been released, and the stare department was told it had been largely because of ……Bob. So the government was calling to say thanks.
Several months later, the president of Kenya made a phone call to Bob. He was going to rearrange this government and select a new cabinet. Would Bob be willing to fly over and pray for him for three days while he worked on this very important task?
So Bob – who was not politically connected at all - boarded a plane once more and flew back to Kenya, where he prayed and asked God to give wisdom for the leader of the nation as he selected his government. All this happened because one man got out of the boat.
My 6 month prayer, along with my coworker began on March 11th. Our prayer has continued to be Psalms 35. She has never been a fair boss to anyone. My coworker who stole another coworkers password, printed off her homework on the job, and turned it in as her own was kicked out of graduate school. My boss wrote her a recommendation to get into another school. Other than that my boss has never treated her employees with grace. We prayed that God will do something radical to remove her from office. He is already moving powerfully. This morning I received a phone call that they are making major cuts and the first to go is going to be management. How mighty is our God?
