Sometimes, in this life, we meet people, or even a single person, that just sets our soul on edge. Everything about this person causes an inner turmoil that causes us to feel out of control. Satan uses that individual to tempt us into falling away from God’s desire for us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. For the past few years, I have experienced this scenario almost daily. There’s someone in my life who does not care about the pain and chaos they cause. This individual can be self-serving and deceitful, and I allowed myself to be drawn into the trap of anger from what felt like injustice in the world. I spent so many years in anger and bitterness that I began to focus solely on the unfairness of the situation and desiring to have control of the narrative. I used to desire for that person to receive their just desserts, I wanted them to feel even a quarter of what I did. That was the old me. The new me feels differently. I spent so much wasted time in hatred and anger. I allowed myself to fall into a pattern of allowing someone to steal my joy, but not anymore. In fact, I have begun to pray for this person who causes chaos. I have begun to feel sorry for them in a way. I have learned that hurt people hurt people. Those who are unhappy within themselves or their own life will project that and desire it for others too. It isn’t easy to choose to turn away from anger. It isn’t easy to turn the other cheek when someone is bismerching your name. It’s tempting to fall back into Satan’s trap and act out in pain. But do we really feel satisfied with ourselves when we allow that to happen? Do we feel guilt or shame for stooping to a level that Jesus made clear we need to avoid? Is the opinion of the world worth more than the opinion of God? Those were tough questions that I had to answer for myself. I needed to determine what my peace was worth to me. Was it more important to be right or obedient? That can be a tough question to answer in various seasons of our lives. It’s freeing to reach a point in our lives where God’s opinion is the one that matters rather than those in the world. Sometimes, we need a reminder that it’s not our will. It’s God’s will. Everyone in our life is placed there for a reason, whether good or bad, and our job in this world is not to take revenge but to be steadfast in God’s word. Vengeance belongs to God, not to me, and I can not take control of what is not mine.