Testimony - Bless those who curse you...

I heard the Lord say ‘Bless him’ – Had I heard it right?!!

I can remember when I had so much trouble from the Landlord. Oh the troubles I have had with this flat are just too numerous to mention; waste coming in through the bath, rats, holes in the roof, floods, radiators bursting with water everywhere, blasting music till 3am until the flat was shaking. You name it, it happened! Then when I tried to get out of the flat the landlord lied to say I hadn't paid any rent. I didn't have a rent book and I couldn't prove to the new agency that I had paid it. Oh the injustice of it all was unbelievable! But you see I had a lesson to learn through this. In my heart I was so angry, murderously angry. I would scream and rant and rave and cry but nothing seemed to resolve the pit of despair of my circumstances.

I was just recovering from a nervous breakdown, money was extremely tight and the trouble with the flat was the last straw.

In my rage I spoke to two of my neighbours cursing landlord and it turns out they were his sons! But they had actually agreed with me mind you! This didn’t help because it made me feel justified about my own actions of anger and rage and injustice in my heart.

Then, one day as I was walking to the shops, I heard the Lord say “Bless him”. Had I heard it right!

I said out loud to the Lord 'Bless him Lord! how can I bless him??!!!'

Still the words came. “Bless him”.

Well what a challenge. I hated him, I was suffering. It was so unfair! He was the bad guy in my eyes and yes even in the town his name was synonymous with ‘trouble’. It seems every house the Lord has sent me too here in this town is ‘black listed’! No one dares to come to the place such is the trouble. The family are rich property developers with troublesome boys a bit like the sons of Eli! But God was asking me to bless him!

Well I knew God was right. So I did what the Lord asked of me. I started to say with my mouth “bless him Lord, bless his whole family, bless his business”.

The devil would come at me with all the things he had done to me and there was such a fierce battle; but I kept blessing him with my mouth on every occasion and in my prayer time. I don't know how long this went on for but quite a long time a couple of years.

Then the miracles happened. Communication opened up and the hostility went between the sons and I was even able to share about my life and my faith in Jesus Christ to the elder son and prayed for his girlfriend as she was expecting a baby. Her baby was delivered safely and the communication is more open now and often they have come asking for things. There is much more of an ease between the both the sons and the landlords company.

The rats went, the noisy neighbours went one by one. I got a new radiator, finally the holes were fixed. I don’t get the waste coming up into the bath now either. Even though I lost half a carpet through the floods no real damage was done and no water comes through the ceiling now. I had had to fight for all these changes over four years!

God turned it right around. When my husband left they gave and still are giving me grace to catch up with my rent arrears, even though it was my husband who hadn’t paid the rent, God is providing the money I need as the flat is in my name. So it has turned out to be a blessing not a curse and I know I will leave here when it is Gods time. It is my first real home in 46 years and a lot of healing has been done here. There has been much prayer, repentence, forgiveness and love from God in this flat. It has been a refuge for many passing through despite all these traumatic circumstances.
article by jacquijulyan,cornwall,uk
JAnnJulyan@gmail.com
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