"For the love of God constrains us,"
I could
give one example after another of how God has helped me deal with problem people in
my life, but one in particular stands out.
I had just started my new job and naturally I
wanted to do my best to get along with everybody there. Nothing is worse at
work than a tense atmosphere and I set out to be as friendly and considerate as
possible to all my co-workers.
But there always seems to be at least one
trouble maker at a work site and it wasn't long before I discovered who that
person was at my new job.
Sharon (not her real name) was argumentative
and a known instigator and made no secret of her intentions to cause problems
for anyone who crossed her.
Despite my best efforts to get along with
her, Sharon soon had her sights set on making my life miserable and over the
next several days took every opportunity to ruffle my feathers and make me look
bad to the other employees.
One day I had enough and was just about to
tell her a thing or two when the oddest thing happened. I had walked up to
Sharon, ready to unload a few choice remarks, when suddenly I felt the warm love
of God well up in my chest.
At that moment all the frustration and anger
I had been feeling just drifted away and in its place I felt such peace and
kindness towards Sharon.
I realized this was a divine moment when I was
filled with the kind of love God shows toward even the worst of people. It is often
referred to as the Agape (or unconditional love) that holds God back from giving
people what they would normally "deserve."
In the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians,
The Bible explains what I experienced,
"For
the love of God constrains us, because we have
concluded this; that one died for all,"
- II Corinthians 5:14
Instead of reacting with human emotion, our desire to please Him and this
knowledge (that Christ died for us all) helps us more easily yield to God as
His love reaches out through us to even the most challenging people.
That day God not only changed my heart
toward Sharon, He also saved me from saying something I would later regret
because I would have stooped down to her level in retaliation.
God had already done such a marvelous thing,
but He had one more pleasant surprise in store for me.
I really
believed God placed me at that job and had plans to keep me there for quite some time. But, things couldn't go on as they were between Sharon and me so
I took the matter to God in prayer.
"Lord, I'm asking you to either change
Sharon's heart or remove her from here," I said.
Now Sharon had worked at the same location
for the last 12 years and hadn't given any indication she had plans
of leaving anytime soon.
However, just after my experience (and to
everyone's total surprise) she made the announcement she would be leaving
within a few days.
I must say, I was amazed at how fast God
answered my prayer and it seemed the obvious conclusion was that He removed her
because she was not going to change.
After she left, the atmosphere instantly improved at the
work location, not only for me but, for everyone who had dealt with her caustic
personality for all those years.
God will change things for us in answer to
prayer, but sometimes the most amazing changes are the ones that take place within
our own heart.
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