Skip to main content

Friends and Frustrations

We all have them, those friends that think your sole purpose of life is to jump however high they demand on the spot. I recently had been building up a heavy dose of resentment toward one of my friends and this resentment came to a climax at one point last week. I was venting to my mother and little sister about this friend and they, in a godly way, were trying to convict me of my sin but I was so annoyed that I didn't bother to listen. It wasn't till later when I was reading the Bible that God hit me hard in the heart. I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 which really isn't the smart thing to do when you want to be angry. Here's how I read it.
"Becca is patient with ____
Becca must be kind to ____"
And so on. The parts that were particularly convicting had to do with not being rude, insisting on my own way, irritable (I was pretty irritable) or resentful.
It was a good lesson for me. I hope those of you who are going through things with your friends will be encouraged to know with God all things are possible, even dealing with those frustrating friends. This is a command to love others, not a request. And if God commands it we must obey. Remember that you are responsible for yourself before God, not your friends.

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." 1 Cor. 13:7 

Blessings,
RD

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Actually, I'm engaged

If you are a Christian you are part of the greatest love story every told to mankind. This story begins with God speaking and it ends with an "amen". It's found between the covers of this book called "The Bible" and if you haven't read it I suggest you begin immediately because you will be amazed at the love recorded there. If you are a Christian you are described as a member of God's church and if you are a member of His church you are also part of the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5). You might say that Israel in the Old Testament was God's church and He made His love story very clear to them as well...though not because they deserved it. Song of Solomon tells the deep, intimate love of Christ for His church and the adoration of the church for Jesus; it's the story of how it should always be . Sadly, in a few books later we read a story that is heart wrenching. Ezekiel 16 is titled "The Lord's Faithless Bride" because this bride, t...

a different perspective

Henry was walking quickly down the sidewalk one sunny summer afternoon. He had finished his chores and so his mother had let him go out to the park to play baseball with his friends before Dad came home for supper. Henry was quite excited about this adventure but he stopped suddenly when he passed the white church and saw his pastor sitting on the steps with a downcast expression on his normally joyous face.      "Hi Pastor Clay," Henry greeted him as he came to a complete stop just on the other side of the white fence.      "Hello Henry," Pastor Clay's answer was sad.      "How are you today?" Henry asked again, hoping all was well so that he could go play.      "Oh alright," Pastor Clay answered.     With all his might Henry wanted to nod and smile and be on his way...but he couldn't. Instead, he lifted the gate's latch and walked over to the step. Once there, he seated himself beside the pa...

The lost art of JOY

In my parents' household there is almost always someone smiling, laughing, or doing something amusing. This isn't to say that we don't have serious talks and ponder deep mysteries, but in general there is a lightness about their home that is both welcoming and relaxing. This, however, is not a popular trend in today's culture.   The gift of joy, being able to laugh, and finding pleasure in normal every day things seems to have been drowned in the bottomless pit of  work, raising a family, school, money, and stress. Life is busy and I think everyone can agree with that, however, I don't believe the business is the problem. The issue really is selfishness. Sometimes it takes effort, a lot of effort, to step outside of your stressed out, busy mindset and listen to what your child is saying and laugh . Yes, that's right, it is OK to laugh at the silly things that happen.   I believe my father is becoming a master at this art of laughter.  When the...