Hard to Like Circumstances

I have a few people in my life who are hard to like. Some are so close they’re almost like family, yet their cultural mannerisms and nuances of conversation exasperate me. Their value systems are traditional – and their culture is ingratiating. The ingratiating aspects of their culture are not Biblical and I could rationalize my dislike from a Biblical basis – but that would be justifying my position. I could argue it to defend myself, persuading you to agree with me. You would if you, too, struggle with culture and traditional values.

Most often I cannot avoid those who irk me, nor the things that irritate me so. There is no escaping involvement with them! Because this is my truthful response to where I am, one would expect me to consider the Lord to be in error with where He placed me. Often, I would like to think so too, but it would be an errored statement. The Lord has not made a mistake where He has placed me, my thought processes in response to experiences are the mistake. It is my sin, and yours too if you were to be honest in self-examination.

My experiences are how I see things, and how I respond to them. It is how I process the events and circumstances, and conversations I hear that becomes my experience. I have a choice in how my thoughts interact with all that occurs around me. As hard and as difficult as I find it to like these ‘almost as close as family’ people – I am forced to acknowledge as I look at my own shortcomings how hard and difficult it must be for my heavenly Father to consider me as His own! What patience He has! He overlooks my ingratiating behavior more often than I deserve! Is this true for you?

When we have tasted His patience, kindness, love and mercy – when it is our experience, how then can we not discipline ourselves to practice the same with those hard to like persons the Lord places in our lives? Perhaps He does so to teach us more about our own weakness, and sin- and more about His mercy and grace extended to us. What do you think? Why does He have you in your difficult environment with hard to live, and yes, even to love people? What does the Lord want you to know and do with what He has taught you? Why has He placed you where you are? What is He doing?

• Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted (Hebrews 12:3).

• When my life was fainting away, I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple. Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD (Jonah 2:7-9).

• The Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:26-29).

#trials