Difficult people, difficult situation

Just want to share a thought with you. One of the hardest thing for me to face is when relationship goes bad. Oh yes, i do have some....a few...very few. (trust me....one or two is enough). Its hard to face such people because internally i feel like a 'twister' just hit me. I am really poor at handling such situation. This is especially true for all those who are 'relationship-feeling' oriented people (now you know what kind of person i am). This morning, while i was in the bathroom (this is where more serious honest thinking is done...for me) i was thinking about this. It's not so difficult to handle thoughts, but when it comes to emotion, its another story all together.

Well coming back to my thoughts....i figured that in God's Kingdom there is a place where we need to bear with each other. After all, no one's perfect and look at the patience God has with each one of us. And because this world is far from perfect, we will end up hurting one another. Even when we do something good for the sake of someone else....the best of intentions can be misunderstood. One more thing...good relationship can go back!

I think a Pastor is more prone to face this situation than any other person (pardon me if i sound arrogant by saying this). A Pastor has to face someone whom he can't get along with and learn to live with it (This is not to say that the Pastor is perfect).

You might be wondering why am i thinking about this at this juncture of time. Well, there is an explanation for that. Yesterday i was in one of the churches in KL, talking with someone who is going through such situation. When i prayed for this person, i could feel the pain that he was carrying in his heart.

You may ask the question, 'where is God in all of this?' Well, if God goes around zapping everyone who falls into 'difficult people' category, i am sure that i would be one of those who would squashed.

This brings me to a book that i have been reading. In the book, ' The Anointing,' R.T. Kendall says that sometimes God uses our 'enemies' to make a great impact in our life than our friends do. Think about it! Joseph in the bible is an example. When i think back of my Pastoral Ministry i find that what Kendall says really makes a lot of sense. When you are confront with difficult situation caused by difficult people, your inner attitude, faith and beliefs are put to test. It is at this point that we need to learn to rely on God to do the right thing. On our own we would normally react in a negative and damaging manner.

I thinking walking away with bitterness is not an option for Christians. Such attitude would effect our relationship with God. I wonder who else has similiar struggles as I do?