I learned some valuable lessons about abiding in Christ, which also means walking and staying in the light with Him.

The enemy will use anyone around you to provoke you. His goal is to get you so consumed with chaos and distractions that it throws you off your game and essentially throws you back into darkness with him. Don't fall for his schemes. He will do it over and over again, and you will feel singled out, misunderstood, disrespected, ignored, and more. Just don't fall for it.

Here is an example of what happened to me at work years into my walk with the Lord.

I'm a hair stylist by trade. A little over two years ago, God led me to my current salon, where all of my financial needs have been met. It's the only walk-in salon in my area that provides financial security. 

Things haven't always been perfect, but every time something negative occurred, I prayed about it, and God always handled it for me. 

So, things had been good for a while, no drama whatsoever, then out of nowhere one of the women started being really ugly to me. She was saying snide remarks under her breath all the time. I let it go because I genuinely thought that was just the way she was, miserable and unwilling to see other people happy.

Then, things got worse. She loud-capped me in front of the whole team, and a couple of other women joined in to make fun of me. The insults were directed at my memory, which I thought was really insincere. They knew I almost didn't survive a cerebellar stroke or the T.B.I. from years prior.

Needless to say, the rest of the day was awkward. I didn't speak to any of them, and by 2:00 PM I was told I could go because we were so slow.

I don't know what was said to our GM, but she called me into the office as though to reprimand me about my performance. She started to say, "I have been informed," when I cut her off and stated, "If this is about Saturday, I have a serious complaint to file."

Things went from bad to worse within forty-eight hours. My anxiety was so bad I was struggling to breathe. All my knowledge about the enemy and the Holy War going on in our midst seemed to have left my brain. I allowed every negative outcome scenario to enter my brain.

I couldn't lose this job; there are no other options for me in the area.

After living with this paralyzing anxiety for a few days, I finally looked up and said, "God, I place the women and this salon in your hands. Honestly, I felt like a failure.

Maybe it was the enemy making me feel like I shouldn't turn to God for help when I needed Him. Everything happened so fast, and it felt like many people were coming for me at once. It got so bad that I started researching salons in other towns because I was convinced my job was falling apart.

Then it struck me: what if God placed me in this salon, in this town specifically, so I couldn't run from my problems? I couldn't just say, "I've had enough, and leave to go somewhere else. I realized I was completely dependent on God, and that's what He wants from us. It felt like a lightbulb moment.

So, I sat on my bed and had a long talk with Him about my realizations. I told Him I trust you fully, and however you want to handle this situation, I will be fine with the outcome. I placed all my faith in Him and stopped letting my brain spiral.

Then I felt a nudge to call my GM and talk with her. I hadn't spoken to her since she talked to the woman who loud-capped me at work. I wanted to apologize for getting so upset and let her know that I hated drama but had really taken a lot from that woman for too long.

When my GM answered the phone, she immediately let me know that I was right and she was so glad I spoke up. She didn't tell me what was said behind closed doors, just that my name never came up, but that the behavior was addressed, and she believed I wouldn't have problems anymore.

All of my biggest fears melted away immediately. When I got off the phone with her, I looked up and shook my head in disbelief. God totally handled that situation for me. I don't know how He did it, but He did, and the lesson I learned from all of this was that it doesn't matter where you work; there will always be conflict because there's darkness and an enemy seeking to throw us off. Prayer is our weapon, and God will always handle the situation, no matter how bad you think it is.

It's taken me a long time to see the pattern with God fighting my battles. But now I know I don't have to run away when problems occur. Another thing that occurred to me: the enemy was making me feel as though it was wrong to ask for God's help again. Just know He lies about everything to make us feel like the problem is us. It's not, and God wants us to turn to Him in every situation, no matter how many times things go wrong.

Never feel you have to up and leave your career. I truly thought I said too much to my GM and that my problem couldn't be resolved. However, I learned there is no problem too big for God to fix.

I turned to God, and now I have a new mindset. If God doesn't have any problems, neither do I.