Who are your enemies? We all have them. You’re probably thinking, “Not me.” But you do. Sometimes our enemies don’t even know they are our enemies.

Perhaps one way to know who your enemies are—those who know they are and those who do not—is to consider who gets a large chunk of the space in your mind. Who is it that you spend a lot of time thinking about? Who gets prime brain real estate? For whom do you create comebacks and one-liners to use in your next conversation?

Recently, I had an experience where there was an opportunity to see an entire group of individuals as new enemies. As I was talking to myself about it, I said, “Self, will labeling all of these ‘haters’ as enemies be healthy for you in the long run?” Self didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. I knew the correct answer.

I decided to pray about it. Prayer isn’t always my default response, but by God’s grace, lifting the situation up to God actually gave me some peace and clarity. Then I came across a helpful prayer in the Bible. Interesting how that happens. It seems that more often than not, if I turn to God’s Word, I find answers to today’s questions and struggles. Not always, but often.

More times than not, my natural response toward enemies is to mock them. I mock them in my mind. I mock them aloud to others. Somehow I think it will make me feel better or justify myself against their behavior. But a few words from a woman named Hannah provide a different perspective.

Hannah was unable to have children so she was made fun of and belittled by the women in her life who did have children. Rather than retaliating, she lifts her circumstance up to God in prayer. Finally, upon having a child, Hannah sheds light on how to faithfully respond to your enemies. She prays again and says, “My heart rejoices in the Lord. My strength rises up in the Lord. My mouth mocks my enemies because I rejoice in your deliverance.”

According to Hannah, we don’t mock our enemies by literally mocking them. Instead, a much healthier response is to celebrate the tangible ways in which Jesus has delivered us. In the long run, your enemies are mocked through your deliverance. How cool is that??? For me, this provides incredible freedom. No longer will I allow enemies to take up residence in my mind.

This concept deserves its own name. I’ll call it rejocking.

So who are your enemies? Who is belittling you? Who gets a large chunk of time and real estate in your mind?

Do you want them—their words, their actions—to have control over your present? I’m healthier (following an allotted time of pouting) when I focus on my deliverance. Jesus delivers me from my enemies. So I rejock them.

Mocking leads my heart toward an unhealthy, cynical posture. So instead I rejoice in my deliverance. Then I don’t have to wade through the muck of mocking.

Rejocking. Try it.