Have you ever had your day ruined by an interaction with a difficult person? Should others be given that kind of power over our emotions? Of course not. But how do we avoid it?
We must be filled with and led by the Spirit.
Can you recall the last time you encountered a difficult person? Did you react in frustration and wonder why you had to deal with it? Or did you see it as a situation that God has allowed to come to you and will be used for your good?
It can certainly be challenging to always choose the latter. But if we believe the promise of Romans 8:28, that God will use all things for our good, then we must be committed to apply it to all circumstances.
That includes difficult people we may encounter.
There are some key things we can keep in mind when we are around people who seem to just make things difficult.
The first is to remember that our work and lives are not about us. We are instruments that God desires to use to accomplish His purposes.
We can also remember that God can often use these situations to transform us and make us more like Him. They can quickly expose something in us that God wants to address, so we can bear more fruit for His kingdom.
Difficult people in our work create a situation that can be handled very well or very poorly. Most people handle them poorly.
As followers of Christ, we should handle it exactly like Christ would, but we must be led by the Spirit to know how to handle each situation.
There is often a specific aspect that God wants to develop in us. He may want to increase your reliance on Him or to simply work on your heart.
The list of what God can accomplish through these situations is endless and goes far beyond our comfort. But we must remain close to God, so we don’t waste what He has allowed to come to us for our good.
If we want to advance God’s kingdom every day, we must learn to see every situation through His eyes.
Listen to this episode of Your Faith At Work on the Charisma Podcast Network to dive deeper into how to handle difficult people and how to shift your thinking toward God’s perspective. {eoa}
Ryan S. Howard, Ph.D., is the founder of Your Faith At Work, a ministry that helps Christians transform the way they live and work every day. He has worked in the global manufacturing industry for more than 15 years and has visited over 20 countries. Ryan hosts a weekly podcast and is the author of 21 Days to a New Workplace You. He lives in Iowa with his wife, Bruna, and their son, John. Learn more at yourfaithatwork.org.
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