The Right Side of Defiance

Do you know how strong you are?

I see you. I know your story…or at least I know some of your story. 

Clearly you are one courageous warrior. 

You are a force to be reckoned with.

I know you do not feel that you are right now.  

You may be your own harshest critic

That seems to be our nature in times like this.

But let’s change that tape for one minute.

Let’s rewind and start speaking truth.

And the truth is, you have already stood up to your adversary.

You have already said the words & done what is right. 

You just haven’t given yourself credit for those hard won victories.

You’ve been pinned in the corner.

You’ve been dissed out loud.

You’ve been underestimated.

Underplayed.

Overstepped.

You’ve been hit while you’ve been down.

Below the belt and above all reason.

But I don’t see anyone standing over you, counting you OUT now!  

Not one.

They wouldn’t dare come close.

The thing is you took the blows, went into your corner and decided you would not surrender to something that was dead wrong…so wrong, it could not even stand for one minute in the presence of truth without flinching.

You stared that false puppet in the face and said, NO!  

Not for me!  

I know what is right for me, for those I love, for the future and my future self.  

And it is not this.  

You brought up your shield of Truth and held firm.

You held on to Goodness, Kindness, Faith in yourself and Faith in your God.  

You made your actions match your words; your thoughts mirror your heart.  

You stood and said I will not take the easy way out, even if it brings me pain yet again. Even if it causes me to lose what I thought I had worked so hard to regain.

Even with all of that, I will not bend to the easy way out.

I will not give up what is true, right, pure, unselfish, or what is love!  

For what IS love if it has none of these other things?  

Is it even love?

Save your lengthy sentences and your jumbled logic; your long, long pages of self-justification.  

They are nothing to me.

They mean nothing to me.

I will focus on what is best and what is good and that will be my guide.

For you are not in charge of my life or my soul.

I am.

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Philippians 4:8 

For whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things.”