If you
live on this earth long enough, you can be assured you will end up dealing with
a difficult person. But if you turn the situation over to God, He is able and
willing to make you the victor and not the victim.
God's Power Over Difficult People
I had just been hired as a customer representative
for a tire distributor and it was my very first day on the job. After leaving
Springdale, I drove 70 miles in a snow storm that left Arkansas State Highway
71 reduced to a single lane. All the way, I kept hoping I wouldn't meet any one
because there was no place to pull over.
I finally made it to Ft. Smith but had to stop
on a hill in town because the traffic was backed up. The blowing snow had
covered over my headlights which made it very difficult to see so I decided I
would get out to clean them off.
After scrapping the ice and snow off the
headlight lens, I took a couple of steps back toward the driver's door. Being
on an incline made it very hard to walk and I lost my footing . My legs flew
out from under me and I hit the icy pavement full force on my back.
By now I was in pain, frustrated and
embarrassed. This new job was proving to be far more of a challenge than I had
anticipated, but the worst was yet to come.
My boss, Al, had asked me to drop by and pay
a visit to a particular tire dealer there in Ft. Smith and see if I could drum
up some sales. I carefully navigated my way along the icy roads in town until I
located the business.
I pulled into the parking lot, got out of my
car and walked up to the front door. A soon as I entered the business I
introduced myself to an older gentleman and told him the company I represented.
No sooner had I mentioned the name of my company
than he began to chew me out in a very loud voice and literally got right up in
my face. This caught me completely off guard, since I had no idea what he was
so angry about.
"Let me tell you something, boy,"
He shouted. " I was in the tire business before you was ever born and you
can't tell me anything about tires."
Now it was true I didn't know much about
tires since it was just my first day on the job, but I didn't appreciate this
man's attitude. Matter of fact, after standing there listening to him continue
to bad mouth me, I was starting to get a little angry myself. I had already had
a really rough day and the last thing I needed was some hothead yelling in my
face!
Even as Christians, there are times the
carnal nature kicks in and we feel like reacting in a way that is not pleasing
to God. I could have tried to justify myself, but I knew I still had a duty as
a Believer to do the right thing so out of a desire to please God I cried out
to Him for help.
"Lord, I feel like punching this guy
right in the face," I admitted silently. "But I know you don't want
me to do that. So Lord I'm asking you to help me," I pleaded, "because
I don't know what to do."
I had no sooner finished that prayer than I
felt a wave of electricity start at the top of my head and move quickly down
the full length of my body. I had felt this sensation many times before and I quickly
recognized it as the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
God promises in Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)
-
"Call
to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty
things, which you do not know."
Well, all I can say is, I did and He did! I called to Him and
He answered in a great and mighty way.
Just a few seconds before, this man in front
of me had been ranting
and
yelling with a crazed look in his eyes. Yet, as I watched him now, his
expression
suddenly changed to a look of bewilderment as if he didn't
quite
know what he was doing.
He blinked his eyes, backed up, and a very
mellow look rapidly
spread came
over his face. He then kindly asked me to repeat my name.
This may
sound odd to some of you, but, though I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit on
the outside of my body, I must admit, it had not penetrated inside to the
calming of my soul.
In fact, I was still feeling so aggravated from
this man's previous
verbal
assault that I snapped the answer back at him, "My name is
Jim!"
"Well, Jim," He now spoke in a
very friendly tone of voice, "I think we got off to bad start. I'm sorry
about that, but I do a large volume of business here and I don't really think
you would be able to beat the prices I can buy at right now."
I had finally begun to relax a little bit
and it sunk in exactly what had just happened. I prayed to the Lord for help
and He showed up on the scene, doing what only He could do.
When telling this story to others I often
say with a smile on my face, "The biggest mistake that man made that day
was getting too close to me. Because, when the Holy Spirit came on me, it got
all over him and changed his heart!"
The gentleman continued, "Have you ever
seen my place, Jim?" "No," I replied. "Well, let me show
you around. Do you drink coffee?" "Yes I do," I affirmed. "Cream,
sugar?" He asked. Looking at the secretary He said, "Get this man
some coffee and put in it whatever he wants!"
The man who previously seemed poised for a
knock down drag out, now took me on a friendly tour of his warehouse. Afterward
he thanked me for coming and gave me a warm sendoff.
"Jim, I really don't think you have
anything I would be interested in, but the next time you're in town be sure to
stop by and I'll take a look at what you've got," He promised. "And I'll even take you out to
lunch!"
What a turnaround! He started off treating
me like a bitter enemy and ended up treating me like a close friend. That's
what God can do!
Just remember, you don't have to face
difficult situations alone. God is there to help and He's only a humble, heart-felt
prayer away!
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