Coffee beans and confrontation started with the smell of grinding delicious roasted beans at a local cafe. It was in the overpowering caffeinated mist when out of the corner of my eye, I saw something that I knew I needed to walk directly towards. I wasn’t even sure if it was the right person. I saw who I thought it was and I dropped my stuff right there in the middle of the path to walk “junk free” directly towards who I thought this person was. I knew that what they had for me was exactly what God wanted for me. What led up to this? What led up to me crying and embracing this person and just thanking God that He appointed this conversation?
A situation occurred to me of belittling, ridicule and embarrassment in front of colleagues. A pungent death punch to self-esteem, confidence, and self-worth. Strife snuck in and taking offense, judgement, criticism, debate, etc.…took hold of me.
We’ve all been in situations that we were unfairly treated and embarrassed in the presence of our colleagues or other important people in our lives. The specifics may change, but the feelings of inadequacy and shame are universal. These situations can stick to us like fly paper if we are unable to properly cope with them, dragging offense, selfishness, and anger as dead flies behind us.
Are there things that are going on in your life that need confrontation?
That’s what happened in the sweet smell of percolating coffee. I could feel the confrontation that I needed. To pull a root stuck deep out of my heart and my mind; to get this enemy thinking out. But it was only through this confrontation that I was going to be able to really hear the Lord; to really see what he had for me; to be brought back to where I am supposed to be. If it wasn’t for the confrontation, I think I’d still be stuck. I think I’d still be stuck in that mind thinking “Woe is me…why was I ridiculed? Why was I doing this? Why was I doing that?”
Brought back to reality by my Christian confronter, I had all the armor and all the brainpower and all the knowledge and all the shields that God has given me while I was in the aforementioned situation.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10 NASB
For some reason, I just forgot. Sometimes we just forget. We shouldn’t but just like we put our keys in the same place so we remember where they are or how we might plug our phones in the same spot so we know where it is when time to find it, so it is, that we are to be putting the knowledge of God, the words of His wisdom, the word of Jesus, in the same spot. When these confrontational times arise and when you know that nothing in this world can ridicule you as bad as our savior was ridiculed, you can stand unaffected and walk in love. Those words of God will be immediately brought up because they’re in the same spot and we made a habit to know that the only words that reign on this earth are our Heavenly Father’s and our Lord and Savior Jesus’ and the Holy Spirit’s.
Donna McDaniel
Author, Mentor
