One day a lady was rude to me, mean to me, cold toward me, abrasive with me, and lashed out at me for no known reason. Just so happened she was manager at a place of business that had made an error months before, promised to fix it, never fixed it, and now the lady refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing, offered no apology, and was belligerent toward me. I tried to talk with her but got nowhere. I told her calmly and without anger that I did not feel she was speaking to me in a kind, compassionate, loving, and respectful manner. This only seemed to set her off even more. The Lord spoke to my heart to get off the telephone.
Times have changed for four reasons. First, I used to act like she did, and God has lovingly, mercifully, and patiently been working on me for years to transform me into the woman of God I am today. Second, I can still fall short in the same way if I’m not careful and have learned to repent when I fall into any and all sin and to be thankful for the Lord’s mercy and to ask the people I’ve harmed for forgiveness. Third, God has taught me to forgive and to purge myself of the yucky emotions in the process.
Fourth, the Lord has taken me from a place of no-way-will-I-pray-for-that-person to I-will-pray-for-that-person-to-obey-God-but-will-do-so-with-no-care-for-the-person-whatsoever to praying for the people have hurt me with a desperate desire for them to have a forever relationship with God, to know His love, to be healed, to be delivered from darkness, and to live the blessed life now and forever God has for them if they would only but repent and surrender their lives humbly and wholly to Him.
God gets ALL the glory for how He has transformed me and continues to transform when it comes to nasty people and a world filled with trials, tribulations, challenges, difficult people, etc. Friend, once we humble ourselves and surrender ourselves wholly and wholeheartedly to the Lord and His ways, He gives us all we need love, kindness, mercy, grace, and strength included to do what is right no matter what others do right or wrong good or bad hard or easy for us to face.
Please surrender yourself utterly to the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you’re facing a situation with a nasty person or people, please turn to the Lord and respond as He would have you – with love, mercy, forgiveness, and prayer all for the glory of Christ, oh yes, AMEN!
“”You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:43-45
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21