Hater-Aid!
Exodus 7:3 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.”
Throughout my professional and military career, I have occasionally seen and experienced the hatred of a supervisor or someone in authority over me. While it is true that I am generally a person who is easy to get along with, I can have my moments. Nevertheless, in certain situations, I could not understand why in the world the person hated me.
One example that comes to mind was when I was in the military. I had a supervisor who was often “neck-deep” into everything I did, even though my section always received a “no deficiencies noted” inspections rating. In other words, I did a good job and was pretty efficient, yet I was often stressed, oppressed, and under duress. To translate my situation into a Y2K term—my supervisor was filled with “hater-aid.”
Of course, many of you may not be familiar with this term. It is derived from the sports drink Gatorade, which was created to aid one’s body after physical exertion by preventing dehydration. “Hater-aid,” on the other hand, was created to assassinate by preventing another’s destiny from being fulfilled. Even so, in the process of trying to hinder you, the person who is filled with this poison may really be assisting you in ways that he/she could never imagine.
In our text, we see God tell Moses that “I [He] will harden Pharaoh’s heart,” not the devil, nor evil spirits, but ” I [He].” God himself hardened the heart of Pharaoh. Quite often we are quick to believe that it’s the devil behind that person of authority “not liking” us. I’m sure that after suffering under Pharaoh’s large dose of “hater-aid,” some of the children of Israel felt the same way. But on occasion, it might just be God. Stay connected with me, and I’ll explain.
God said, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” simply because Israel, God’s children, got too comfortable where they were, and where they were was not the end He had designed for them. God did not become their God so that they could remain under the rule of someone else. If He told them, “you will be the head and not the tail, above only and never beneath” (Deuteronomy 28), how could He allow them to stay where they were. They simply got comfortable and forgot the covenant. So what did God do? He pushed them out of the nest and made them take flight.
What I really want you to understand is, God is so involved in your destiny that He could even utilize the hatred of others to propel you. It’s not His pleasure for you to stay “the tail.” You must excel! So often, I’ve seen people enter job situations that were wonderful, then over time turned sour, and the employees were quick to proclaim, “The devil is busy.” I’m not doubting that the enemy is in the work place; believe me, I’ve experienced that first hand. But sometimes we need to recognize that it might be God forcing us to “take-flight.”
It took me years to really understand what was going on in my situation. I thought that it was old satan at work simply trying to keep me down. I wondered why does this guy hate me. I never did anything to him. I’m working for him and coming through inspections with perfect ratings, so what’s going on?
Now I know that all it was, was hater-aid — Hate Aiding me to get where God wanted me to be. God had something greater for me at the next stop. And He also has the same for you. We have new friends that are awaiting our arrival. We have opportunities that are hoping that we show up. We even have peace to the point that when we go home every day, we can actually leave the job or the situation behind. It will no longer follow you, upset you, and worry you after you depart the premises. There is bigger, there is better, and God has it for you. So don’t hate the aid, let the hate aid you!
