No one likes to be irritated. Irritating people are usually contentious, argumentative and seem to find a way to get under our skin. They rub us the wrong way like sandpaper or stones in our shoes.
Oh, do you remember me talking
about sandpaper people as blessings several months ago?
Apparently "pebble" and "sandpaper" people are a big part of our inward journey, and they
are placed in our lives to help us become gems for Jesus.
Welcome new friends:
I’m so glad to meet new people on Daily Favor this week. Welcome friends from Bangladesh, Canada, Australia, Russia, England, Portugal, Slovenia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Serbia and Japan along with our new friends from Kansas, Virginia and Mississippi. Please remember to pray for your brothers and sisters of faith following Daily Favor from around the globe.
Characters of the
Lord
Being the contentious spirit is much worse than being surrounded with people of that nature, so we must do whatever it takes not to be that kind of individual.
On the other hand, God allows
irritants to come into our lives to make us beautiful from the inside out. When we are put under pressure our true
character is revealed and sometimes it’s not that pretty.
The spirit of jealousy,
selfishness, pride, offensiveness and being critical mindedness are revealed when
confronted with something that makes us uncomfortable. These are character traits that God wants to
remove from us if we are to walk in love and receive favor from Him.
No matter what we are going
through, God will use the situation to test and refine us. Rather than fight it, we need to submit to
the test.
The Best You
What high value we humans place on such stones to the point of wanting the best there is to offer, never realizing what it took to make sure an exquisite beauty.
God thinks of us the same way; we
are precious, unique and valued by Him, but not in our raw, growing state. Something has to change from the inside if we
are to become the best we can be.
This entire process had me
considering that shellfish. You know every little oyster has to go through a
lot in order for us to enjoy each stone.
I could compare it to a pebble or stone in the shoe, but we’d simply
remove the shoe, dump out the stone and the situation is solved. No, it’s much
more than that. The pebble actually
becomes part of the oyster and adds value to its worth.
Being an oyster isn’t easy. Think about it. How would you feel if a tiny speck of sand
was lodged in your throat and instead of spitting it out, it keeps growing and
growing. When you open your mouth for a
drink it sloshes around but doesn’t wash away the object. How irritating!
The tiny speck over time becomes
a pearl not from the water, but from the continual irritations coming in that
move it around allowing the water to smooth out the rough edges. If the pebble is removed too soon the oyster
is happy, but the pearl isn’t ready.
This is what we do. As soon as an irritation (undesirable person or event) invades our world, we
ask God to remove the problem from our lives, but He keeps saying not yet, in
due time. The Water, being the Word of
God, needs to wash over our situation to create something new, but are we
willing to wait for the final product?
When God allows contentious
people into our lives, it isn’t to see how upset or frustrated we can get. He does it to help us grow into the person we
need to be so that His work in us can be established.
If we always ask God to remove
the “stone” we would never realize how strong we are in Him, nor would we see
His mighty work on our behalf.
For God to remove
the irritant, He would be removing the gem that is buried inside of us. We would never realize
our value, who we really are in Him, or reach our full potential.
Double Trouble
If God sent these people into your
life for a test and you run from it, don’t think you’ve escaped the trial. As a matter of fact, you can be sure that the
next place you go God will double your trial until you pass the test. He won't add to your difficulty, but keep the tests coming until you are obedient to His prompting by the Holy Spirit.
Fleeing from danger isn’t what
I’m referring to here. When there are
difficult people in our lives God needs us to go the next mile in winning them
over to Him. There are times when the
contentious soul is a Christian. God is
working on them as well, so don’t think you are a better person than
they are. Only God knows why they are
revealing their “not so nice personality” and it’s His job to test not ours.
“For I consider that
the sufferings of this present time (situation) are not worth comparing with
the glory which will be revealed in us (you and I) at a later time.” (from
Romans 8:8 emphasis mine)
Every test is an opportunity for
us to grow closer to God, and isn’t that what this year’s journey is all about? Our attitude needs to be “If God is allowing this into my life I’m going to embrace it and let
it refine me. He's working on making me beautiful!”
Please don’t get this confused
with pain and sufferings that may happen due to a death or tragedy and when
life seems unfair. God will use those
instances for His glory, but promises He will never leave or forsake us through
it all.
We have to believe that this is
all going to work out for our good. Our
“believer” that says we trust God, has to let the Lord do what He needs to, so
that we can be promoted into position to receive His blessings.
Waiting it Out
Mary had a job quite a distance from her home.
It would take her about 40 minutes or so on a good day weather
permitting. She actually lived in a
different state, and had to take back roads to get to her place of employment.
For several years Mary worked at
this lower paying job with little recognition.
When I talked with her about the situation she spoke of how things
weren’t that great and that she might quit her job. Mary didn't feel that she was
making a difference and was not appreciated.
Trying to show her the other side
of the situation I explained that maybe she and her boss might be the only
Christians in the place. Even though Mary's
boss wasn’t acting in the manner of Christ, we don’t know what he is dealing
with and that God may need her to lift him up in daily prayer.
I encouraged Mary not to leave her
position and that God would open something up for her in His timing, if she
remained faithful.
In late December Mary told
me that she had another job offer. It was actually the place where she used to
work, and that the head of the department that let her go had left the company.
The employee that Mary trained for
her position in her old job mentioned Mary's name to the new boss. They asked her to return. She was given a
higher position and a raise, plus it was within 5 minutes of her home.
Mary never sought after
another position, but waited it out and let God open the door. If she followed her feelings she would have
missed what God had prepared for her.
Allowing the Lord to refine her in dealing with irritating people and
situations, she learned how to step up in leadership.
Stop trying to combat everything
you are uncomfortable with in your life.
Don’t give in to offense or having your feelings hurt every time things
don’t go as smoothly as you like. How
will you ever know what you are made of if people always bail you out of a
situation or you quit whenever you are challenged?
Unless you begin taking the tests
sent your way, you will never know the beautiful person inside that God is trying
to reveal.
C is for Challenge
not Contention
First Peter 4:12-14 tells us the purpose of trials. They are to show us what needs to be changed and prove the quality of our character.
Allowing God to take us through life’s tests along our inward journey, lets Him know that we trust Him to bring us to the desired end. (Reference)
If we are always going against
God, aren’t we telling Him that we don’t agree with His decisions? That must get rather old with the Lord.
When we stay in the fight and
don’t add to the contention, it gets us ready for the promotion that God has
been preparing for us all the time.
Learning to deal with various personalities and character traits in people
helps us to become inwardly ready. It trains us to be the outward leaders God needs if we are to reach our goal and fulfill our calling.
Good leaders know how to handle
tough situations without running from them.
They don’t give in to intimidation or frustration, but are challenged to
use each incident to benefit the company (or situation) without arguing.
The Bible tells us that *“Our
faith is tried in the fire of affliction just as fire tests and refines gold.”
If we allow God to use the situation to refine us, we are in for something good
and better than we could imagine.
Let this be the start of an inward
refining, and accept the challenge when contention rears its ugly self. Get
excited that God believes there is something greater in you waiting to emerge
that will wow the world!
In your daily prayers invite God
into your situation. Don’t ask Him to remove
the “stone”, but show you A.N.A. (a new approach) in dealing with the
circumstances. Pray for His strength and
wisdom with understanding to carry out a new plan for a better end.
Pastor Charles Swindoll once said,
“Every journey is accomplished one step at a time.”
I’ve added,
“with many pebbles in our shoes.”
Why did I focus on our shoes this week? Mainly because our feet sometimes have to travel in places that are a bit rocky, muddy or unstable.
Without God's favor shield, we could step into places we really shouldn't be when it comes to our Christ-like behavior. We need the Lord to save us from becoming unbalanced and unattractive in our character.
Basically, what I am asking God to do is save me from making the wrong choices that will lead me down the wrong road on my inward journey.
There are bound to be people "pebbles"
along the path on our journey that may scuff our life shoes and make them
uncomfortable. Don’t fret over your
designer foot coverings; what's inside is the only thing that counts.
Before you say or do anything,
take a break … breathe and patiently deal with adversity without getting angry
while waiting for God’s instructions.
Allow patience to work for you so that you come out on top of the
situation. (James 1:2-8)
God has given you His Spirit of Peace; all you need to do is ask Him to draw it out and activate it. Whether it is night or day, every place your path leads, the Father of Creation is walking with you to ensure a great journey.
You have what it takes not to
give in or quit on God while He is working out the details. If you asked Mary, she would say it’s
worth the wait.
Be ecstatic, there’s a new you
being made and God thinks you are VERY GOOD. (Genesis 1:31 NKJV)
Father of Creation | Hillsong
Until next time, favor doesn’t come without challenge.
I’d like to recommend that you
read “Encouragement for Life”, which helps us deal with the “stones” that are
in the path of our journey. Dr. Swindoll
discusses seven aspects that may hinder our relationship with the Lord and how
to overcome them.
Additional Helps: Dr. L. Ronald Durham " Spiritual Sand Paper "
Maybe
you don’t know the Living God that I know, but would like to have this kind of
favor in your life also. Click on the
above tab “Tell Me About Jesus” for
more information on becoming a child of the Savior.
Content and Image Copyright
from Favored1. Do not copy.
*Quote from "Break Out" by Joel Osteen/Faith Words Publishing Copyright 2013. Disclosure: No advertisement or association with God Save My Shoes is intended or endorsed.
Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provide by Bible Gateway
Scripture reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provide by Bible Gateway
Image credit: Google Images or Dreamstime Creative Common License if not specified.
Image: Pebble in Shoe Pearl Stages Trouble Waiting Challenge Kid
Tags: God Save My Shoes, Daily Favor Blog, Favored1, Peace, Holy Spirit, Charles Swindoll, Encouragement, Encouragement for Life Devotional, Weekly Challenge, Joel Osteen, Creation, Favor, Shield, Hillsong.
Tags: God Save My Shoes, Daily Favor Blog, Favored1, Peace, Holy Spirit, Charles Swindoll, Encouragement, Encouragement for Life Devotional, Weekly Challenge, Joel Osteen, Creation, Favor, Shield, Hillsong.