Will you let God have the pen to write your happily ever after? When it comes to human relationships, God knows what His best is for you and who you really need. If God can fashion Eve as a custom-fit rib and help mate for Adam, can He not do the same for you? Even if you have found yourself married before and divorced, even if you have given away aspects of yourself and even your own name, believe that God can restore and redeem, it is not too far gone. Ask God to forgive you for the mistakes you made without Him and instead give you what He desires to give you.
Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:43-45), including those we see or deem as not so easy to love. The truth is, when we pray for them, we begin to see them in a different way. Our hearts soften, and something profound happens – God gives us a chance to understand the greatness of His incredible and indescribable love for us.
Understanding that every person is made in the image of God helps me to see people as they actually are. Our battle is not against flesh and blood. My “enemy” probably isn’t actually my enemy.
We believe that nothing happens by chance and that we can learn from everything God allows us to go through. As time has passed, we have been able to see that being misunderstood and even judged was allowed to happen and has been used to make us more like Jesus. God has been equipping us to be able to serve him better and to serve the church better. He allowed us to be judged and misunderstood so that we would know how it feels, be careful to assume the best of others, and not judge another member of the body of Christ.
Instead of trying to fix someone else, you can offer your support through prayer and genuine empathy. Trusting in God’s sovereignty, you can release your desire to control the situation and allow His perfect plan to unfold.
Inevitably, all of us will eventually suffer unjust treatment. We will be treated unfairly, be misunderstood, and our motives will be misinterpreted and questioned. We are responsible for ourselves and the condition of our own hearts before God. We can only do so much to try and make things right; then, we need to leave it in the hands of our loving Father, who allows us to experience unjust treatment for his purposes and our sanctification.
Sometimes friendships end because you've hurt each other. These wounds can go deep, yet God calls us to live above reproach. This means we give up our right to get in the last word, justify our bad behavior, or get revenge. We have to allow God to be the one who makes things right for us. Trust that he is still working in both of your lives and will find ways to teach you through this ordeal. It's tough not to want to defend ourselves when we feel wronged, but it's not our job.
When she actually faced her thoughts, she realized how consistently mean, degrading, negative, and unhealthy they were. When I asked her to see if she could find a pattern – she realized she was stuck in a spiral of thoughts with a theme of inadequacy. She was never good enough. Not in her personal life, not in her marriage, not in her friendships, not as a mom, a homemaker, or a businesswoman. Her thoughts always pointed out where she wasn't measuring up, fixating on all that was lacking. Her thoughts were not only hurting her; they were hurting her relationships.
Whether it’s because we’ve highlighted enough sentences in boundary-related books or because we instinctively get it, it makes sense not to weaponize our boundaries against someone else.
What we must recognize is that our loved ones who have descended into conspiracy theories may be experiencing an ongoing sense of threat or uncertainty. Further, we must be willing to meet them in that place with compassion and kindness.
Maybe it’s your pastor or mentor.Maybe it’s someone in your Bible study.Maybe it’s a famous Christian in the news.They’ve sinned. They’ve said they believe one thing and lived like they believed something else. Their life is messier than you could have imagined, and you feel disappointed, angry, confused, disillusioned, sad . . .How are we supposed to feel when other Christians miss God’s mark? How can we cope with the chaos other people’s sin creates? What should we say (if anything?)Here are nine things to keep in mind when another Christian disappoints you.Erin Davis is passionate about pointing young women toward God's Truth. She is the author of several books and a frequent speaker and blogger to women of all ages. Erin lives on a small farm in the midwest with her husband and kids. When she's not writing, you can find her herding goats, chickens, and children.Image courtesy: Pexels.com
God’s Word gives us examples of those who not only disregarded His Ways, but openly tried to turn others against Him. Some were willing to repent and become aligned again with the Lord, but others stubbornly kept to their ways and suffered the consequences.
