Quit Trolling Me!

Over a year ago I had a bad facebook encounter on a private group. I was looking for some advice and instead, one particular person seemed to be on a mission to attack me. At the time I/we had been going through an incredibly difficult time. I was raw, emotional, and took the attack incredibly personal. I went to cry in the bathroom so my kids didn't see me. Holding my laptop, I was ready to hit the leave group button. This woman was trolling me and I just couldn't take it right now. Suddenly I heard the Holy Spirit whisper "She's not trolling you, the devil's trolling you. "

In John 16 Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit's coming. In verse 13 He says the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth. Part of the Holy Spirit's role is to reveal truth to us. As I desperately cried in that bathroom over a year ago, the Holy Spirit brought me to the truth.

Oftentimes we think we are being overrun by people problems, but at their core they are spiritual. There is a spiritual battle being waged and we miss it because we only see the person who is giving us a hard time.

Ephesians 6:12 says "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places."

The devil trolls us. He will try to click bait us. He will even influence godly people to get ungodly responses from us. I say influence because it doesn't mean someone has to be possessed to be used by the devil. He is simply there poking at our flesh trying to get a reaction that doesn't line up with God's word. He is also trying to get us to not only give in, but to give up. If we take ourselves out of the race, it's a loss for us and a win for him. We are waring against spiritual forces even though all we see is people.

Does this mean every people issue is a satanic attack? No. But it does mean we should be more mindful of it's possibility. It's good to take a step back in difficult situations with people and seek the Holy Spirit's guidance. Remember He leads us to all truth. See if there is any truth He wants to illuminate to our issue. Maybe He shows you the problem is you! The horror! Would God say it's me? Yes. Yes He would! Maybe He reveals you should just walk away. We may be right and God will still call us to walk away. Do I need to be right at the sacrifice of others; their dignity, my self respect, my witness?

Since the Holy Spirit revealed to me the devil's trolling abilities, I get into a lot less Facebook drama. I can usually pause long enough to listen for the Holy Spirit or ask the Spirit what I should do. It's not always easy when I hear to walk away, especially when I know I'm right, but it's always beneficial.

Has someone been trolling you lately online, at your job, at school? Remember it just may be the devil that's trolling you. We are given free will which also means, we are individually responsible before God for our actions. I believe God wants to move us from living as reactors to becoming seekers. Stop going through life just reacting impulsively to everything that comes at us. Instead we train ourselves to pause for a moment to seek God seek the Holy Spirit to shed the light of truth on our situation. It could even be that we wait to react until we get direction from Him. Case in point the wait for direction situation once happened to me, and left me forever changed. I'll close with that story.

When I was a little over 7 months pregnant with Daisy, I was shopping in a department store. A woman around my age came up to me and commented something like "You look like you're ready to pop!" I tried to smile and say I still had over a month left. End of story? No. She kept coming near me continuing to point out how big I was. It was annoying. It was rude. She was trolling me. Everything within me wanted to now respond with a nasty quip, but I felt to keep quiet. Finally this woman simply and sadly said "I wish I could have a baby. " I could feel her heartbreak. Her "beef" wasn't with me and actually wasn't directly about me. Out of her grief and emotionally raw place, she projected her feelings negatively on me. What would have happened had I attacked back thinking I was justified? I could've further destroyed her! I don't know why she couldn't have children and it doesn't matter. The Holy Spirit leading me to pause led me to the truth that was needed for that situation. The truth was I should not attack back. This woman I thought that was trying to break me was already broken. The Holy Spirit sometimes asks us to pause and/or walk away so that we don't continue to break already broken people. Jesus puts people back together, not smash them to tinier pieces. We should do the same.