Craig Clouston

 Bullied

March 5

Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men of violence … they make their

tongues as sharp as a serpent’s.

Psalm 140:1, 2

Carl wet his pants in the third grade. The teacher wouldn’t let him out of class.

Her rule was, “You go before or after, not during classes.” Seated right behind

Carl that day was the class bully. Bully’s harassment of Carl began that day. He

never let up, always calling him derogatory names.

After years of Bully’s abuse, Carl became aware of two things: he was

afraid to stand up for himself, and nobody else was going to do it for him. He

lived in constant fear of his next encounter with Bully.

Carl never forgot those years and became an angry man because of those

unresolved wounds, venting his anger in ways that caused additional pain for

himself and those he loved. He developed a quick temper and frequently spoke

in clipped sentences to let people know they were an annoyance.

God tried to help Carl, but Carl was angry at God for allowing Bully to

do the things he had done. For all intents and purposes, Carl appeared to be an

upstanding, confident man. In silence, Carl’s private wound continued to ache;

he refused to talk about it.

h

Carl isn’t alone. Many of us walk around with deep, secret wounds inflicted by

the bullies of the world, hoping no one will ever find out. Satan wants us, like

Carl, to remain silent, for in the silence there is no healing.

God wants those who have known bullies to come to Him for healing. He

alone can take away the pain. He alone can speak His truth into the wounds of

our heart. God is heartbroken over the bullies of the world because they abuse

free will.

Free will means that God could not stop Bully from doing what he did

anymore than He would stop us from committing the sin in our lives. To do so

would mean we had no free will. But God is there in our pain, asking us to let

Him heal our wounds. Free will is ours in this matter also.

Prayer

“Come and set me free from this pain, Lord. Speak Your truth

to my heart. Bring healing to my soul. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”