You Will have Trouble...

Difficult people in our lives can come in all forms. Sometimes in the form of friends, family, church members, co-workers, strangers, even ourselves. People in our lives that cause us frustration, anxiety, heart-ache. People that cause us trouble.

When Jesus was here on the earth, He knew that we would have struggles. Especially, when we choose to follow Him. 

In the Bible, found in the Book of John, is a conversation He has with his close friends. This conversation is placed after the last supper, but before the Garden of Gethsemane.

"In this world you will have trouble" John 16:33. In this instance He does not say "if" of "maybe," He says you will have trouble. In the previous verses in Chapter 15 He talks to them about the world hating Him and Hating those who follow Him. Even to the point where his followers will be thrown out of their synagogue. 

I couldn't image how discourage I would be. As His disciple, the feeling I would have, thinking that He's the one I chose to follow and what the cost of following Him would be. But, I believe that this conversation, these words, were meant for more then just the disciples. I believe there were also meant for us. 

How much more discouraging, unsettling are these words now when I think about them in my life. If by choosing Him, the world might hate me, my church might throw me out, I will have trouble in my life. Is it worth it? Is He worth it?

Why? Why if Jesus wanted us to choose to follow Him would He tell us this things, these hard to swallow, discouraging things?

Because of Love. 

Because of God's character of Love, Truth, & Life exhibited through His Son. 

Jesus shares these words. Words-that as we think about the hard things in our life, the hard people me may have to deal with, can bring us peace. Peace not in ourselves, but peace in our God. 

But, how can these words bring peace? How will they get us through the difficult times and deal with difficult people? 

It's by knowing what Jesus says before this.

"I am the vine; you are the branches." John 15:5 That in Him, He will remain in us. That in Him, we can ask God for anything. That in Him, He loves us and the Father loves us. That in Him, our lives will produce fruit. That in Him, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. That in Him, we have access to everything He has learned from the Father. That in Him, we are not servant, we are His friends. That in Him, we can have peace.

He is the answer. When we remain in Him; He will get us through the troubles of the world. Because we are worth the cost to Him. 

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." John 15:9
"You did not choose me, but I chose you." John 15:16.
"Greater love has not one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends." John 15:12 

Knowing these were the moments before He was about to struggle with the plan the Godhead had for Him. He was about to be arrest, beaten, rejected not only by the religious leaders of the time, but by his closest friends, that the plan of our salvation would cause His life. That for Him in all this trouble-there was Peace.

He loves us enough to not only tell us about His Love-but show us His Love. He wants us to know that when we go through trouble, because we will-that can we have peace. Because God is Love, and when we remain in Him, we have peace to know that HE has overcome. 

"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" - Jesus

~kartini r. maxson

April Prayer Topic: Praying for Difficult People

On our walk and journey with Jesus, how nice would it to that those we met along the way would always easily lift us up to Him? Ones who would help us turn our eyes to Him. 

But for me, that's has not always been the case. There have been people in my life that I would consider not easy to be with. In fact, I would consider them difficult to deal with. 

When I was in high school I can remember such a person. We were in the same group of friends, sometimes it seemed we were even friends. But more often then not, they just rubbed me the wrong way. 

I shared, no I complained, to a mentor teacher about how much they bothered me. Multiple times, I vented to him about this person and patiently he listened. I complained about how annoying and bothersome they were. How they seemed to know the exact buttons to push to get me riled up. And being the good Christian girl I was, I had even prayed that God would change them so they would quit bothering me. 

Finally, after many of these venting sessions, this wise teacher ask me, "Have you prayed about it?" Of course I'd prayed about it! I had already told him I had prayed about it. 

"No," came his reply. "Have you asked God to change your heart about this person?"

What?! I was offended. No, I'm not praying that God change my heart. My heart wasn't what needed to be changed, it was theirs!

As I left there, that conversation did lay heavy on my heart. Was it mine that needed changing? Bit by bit, through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ worked on my heart. And though to some it may seem small and insignificant, God performed what I consider a huge miracle. That changing of my heart. 

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

This is the prayer I want for my life. Not just one I pray for when things are going smoothly and people are easy to be around. But, especially when dealing with difficult people. And God promises that He will do it.

"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

Instead of being hardened towards these difficult people, I have a choice. I can choose to let my emotions control my actions-my life. Or, I can ask God to change my heart and allow Him to control my life. 

I'd like to say the we became best friend. We didn't. But, what happened was no less then a miracle. God changed the way I saw them. I no longer felt irritation and upset every time I saw them. God softened my heart towards them, that this time when I would pray for them, it was genuine. I prayed not that God would change them, but that God would bless them. 

So, I guess you can say difficult people in my life do lift me up to God. When I feel that my emotions want to get the better of me, or I get stuck on how much they bother me, I have a choice. I can choose to remain irritated and upset at them and allow that to contol me. Or, I can choose to turn my eyes and my heart to the One who can truly change me.

~kartini r. maxson