May isang lalaki na sa mahabang panahon ay naging ‘main carer’ siya ng kanyang panganay na kapatid. Isinakripisyo niya ang kanyang personal na buhay upang maalagaan niya ng maayos ang kanyang kuya. Minsan isang araw, nag-away sila.

Kuya, sawang-sawa na ako sa buhay ko. Wala na akong nagawa sa sarili ko. Hindi na ako nakapag-asawa, walang pamilya at mukhang tatanda ako kagaya mo na paralisado! Nagsisisi ako at nagpaka tanga sa ginagawa ko. Wala naman ako mapapala sa ginagawa ko para sa ‘yo! Magaling pang isa sa atin ang mamatay at kuhanin ng Diyos ang buhay para matapos na itong kahirapan nararanasan ko.

Nang marinig ito ng kanyang kuya, nagalit ito at nagtangkang suntukin. Habang nakaupo sa wheelchair ay nagdahan-dahan itong nagpilit na tumayo sa sarili niya. Gusto niyang mahawakan ang kapatid niya upang saktan at suntukin niya. Humawak siya sa pasimano ng bintana, naging mahigpit ang hawak niya upang hindi mabuwal. Unti-unti nakahakbang siya. Sa maraming taon naramdaman niya na may lakas na nagbigay sa kanyang mga paa. Nakahakbang siya. Nakalakad ng konte.

Sumagot na naman ang kapatid: “Kuya, wala ka ng pag-asa sa buhay. Naghihintay na lang si kamatayan para kuhanin ka. Kung talagang matapang ka, halika saktan mo ako. Hindi mo nga kaya makatayo kase pilay ka at baldado!”

Si kuya naman ay unti-unting nakakahakbang na habang lumalayo naman ang kapatid. Nang may isang metro na ang layo nila, tumakbo ang kapatid at niyakap niya si kuya niya: “Kuya, nakakalakad ka na!” Sabay ngiti at halik dahil sa maraming taon ngayon lang nakatayo ang kanyang kapatid na walang alalay.

Kadalasan we thank God for friends and family who inspire us and achieve big things. But we forget that wrong people also help us. Those who put us down, criticize us, and are against us are also something we must thank God for.

Do not complain about people who are against you and are no longer interested in you. God may have taken them out of your life in purpose. The Lord is setting up your better future ahead. When you stop chasing the wrong people, you give the right people the chance to catch you.

At one time, Jesus called Peter, a devil but called Judas, a friend. This is also what happened to Joseph. He had a dream that one day his big brothers will bow down on him. Anger arose and Joseph was thrown to the pit, was sold to be a slave in Egypt where he was falsely accused of raping a married woman that put him into jail. While he was in prison, he met two of the King’s workmen. When the King knew how intellectual Joseph was, he was made the Prime Minister of Egypt. His brothers went to buy grains in Egypt and did not recognised Joseph, all bowed to him. He remembered his dream which was fulfilled. He said to them: What you meant for harm, God made it for my good.”

Without his brothers doing those bad things against him, he would have become an ordinary person working in the field. But God used them to put Joseph where he must be. Thank God for those people who throw you out in the pit, so to speak. Keep those stones and build steps to reach your full potential.

It was well known in the Bible where God hardened the heart of Pharaoh.

Why?

So that there will be an opportunity for God to display His power in dividing the Red Sea. Israelites thought it was their end. But God made a way when these seems to be no way. You may ask that why people are sarcastic to you? Look at what God said in one of his stories. The workers were asking if they will full out the weeds in the field. But the master said, “no” because they may also pull out the wheat. “Let it grow together with the weath. God knows that the weeds of our lives, that those negative and wrong people will able to fast-forward us to our rightful place. Without Judas, Jesus would not have been able to redeem us from our sins. Without his jealous brothers, he would not have become the second man in the land of Egypt, without the giant Goliath, David could have remained a shepherd boy. WIthout that sarcastic comment, that paralysed man could remained crippled and not have had the strength to walk again. Thank God for the wrong people.

Just like any good film, hindi maganda pag walang kontrabida. In this movie of your life, you are the leading actor. God ensures a good and a happy ending. Our Director is the Creator of the Universe,  knew you before you were born. You are wonderfully and carefully created. He promised that all things work together for good. God puts people in your life and removes them for the right reason.