Growing With Difficult People

“I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.” -Judges 2:21-22

When I first entered ministry, I had a dream of serving as Pastor of a church as quickly as possible. That hasty attitude led me to two very difficult experiences. I encountered churches that were saturated with problems, and to be frank… problem people. I watched as “church people” took the “one another’s” of the New Testament (“love one another…,” “accept one another…,” etc.) and tried to do the opposite of each one.

One day I felt I was at my wit’s end. I called my father-in-law and mentor, Danny Kirk, to ask for help. I remember asking how I could possibly go on pastoring such difficult people. I’ll never forget his reply to me as he said, “Brandon, you’ve got to love’m warts and all.” Now that’s good advice.

Why does God place us in the middle of such difficult people? So that He may “prove” us thereby. So that we won’t forget that ministry is all about difficult people. And to see if we’ll use difficult people as an excuse to give up. God has placed people in your life who rub you the wrong way to test your reactions. Is He tempting you to sin? Not at all. Rather, He’s giving you an opportunity to prove your character by not sinning.

Now I hardly think that very many people in our lives could be compared to the brutish and idolatrous Canaanites of Joshua’s time, but we can certainly learn the principle that our surroundings and circumstances are really part of our trial in life. God is preparing us to compete for a crown, even through people who seem like obstacles now.

By the way, if you seem to be surrounded on all sides by difficult people, it may be because you’re a difficult person yourself! Check your life. How do you think God wants you to deal with the difficult people in your life today?