Dealing with Difficult People and Situations - I Samuel 25-26 and Luke 12:32-59
Sometimes, we are tempted to deal with difficult people in a harsh way. In other cases, we decide to give up on them and just forget about them as a lost cause. We need to understand that God wants to give difficult people a chance. He wants us to act in such a way that He can change their hearts. David would have killed Nabal and his men because of his insult. He was acting in anger and in haste. Abigail, Nabal's wife, brought a gift to David and his men, which caused them to think about what they were doing. David admitted that he was acting rashly. He thanked Abigail for stopping him. In the end, God struck Nabal, and he died. The truth is that God was the only one who knew that Nabal would not repent, so he was the only one to kill him. The same was true for Saul the second time David could have killed him. David had determined not to kill Saul, but it was God who caused all of them to fall into a deep sleep. God was helping David carry out his plan to try to reason with Saul. God was giving him one more chance to change his heart. If we don't follow God's direction, we might stop giving people chances too soon.
Luke 12 tells us truths about the time of the end before Jesus comes again. It will be a very difficult time for believers. People will be very mean. It will be tempting to give up and to live like the unbelievers. However, Jesus says no. We must choose to be faithful servants of God even in the most difficult circumstances. There will still be people who need to see Jesus in us and to hear the gospel until the very end. We need to discern the signs of the times and remain faithful, so God can bring the best out of a bad situation. This is true even in Matthew 18:15 situations. When a brother sins, and we have to follow Jesus' guidelines, we are to do it redemptively. We want to see the person repent, not to be destroyed.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 27-29 and Luke 13:1-22.
Luke 12 tells us truths about the time of the end before Jesus comes again. It will be a very difficult time for believers. People will be very mean. It will be tempting to give up and to live like the unbelievers. However, Jesus says no. We must choose to be faithful servants of God even in the most difficult circumstances. There will still be people who need to see Jesus in us and to hear the gospel until the very end. We need to discern the signs of the times and remain faithful, so God can bring the best out of a bad situation. This is true even in Matthew 18:15 situations. When a brother sins, and we have to follow Jesus' guidelines, we are to do it redemptively. We want to see the person repent, not to be destroyed.
Tomorrow, I intend to read I Samuel 27-29 and Luke 13:1-22.