Proverbs 31 OBS I am Loved: Week 4 - Walk in Love

Sometimes this is hard to believe.

It's hard to believe that what is in me is greater than what's happening in the world.  It's hard to believe when it feels like there is SO much that you need to do and get done but not sure how it's going to happen.  

It's hard to believe when you see the corruption and disgraceful state of the American church,  seeing children being murdered at school,  worried about the death of our republic, and whatever else is going on in the world.

It's hard to believe but I do believe it.

It's hard to love difficult people

I don't want to love difficult people.

I just want to ignore them because they're mean, nasty, negative, and are a pain to be around.

Quite frankly my experience with difficult people is that many of them are wounded and broken themselves. Some may decide to get help and gain freedom but most stay in their wounded and brokenness and continue to blame others for their state in life or go around wreaking havoc or being negative.

I can see 25 years later these difficult people are blaming, wreaking havoc, isolating themselves, and being negative.

It's too bad.

Sadly many of them even attend church regularly but lukewarm churchgoing does not translate into relationship with God.  No relationship with God means that you will not know that you are loved.  

When you don't know that you are loved and cared for, then you are filled with hurt, rage, brokenness, and wanting to make sure everyone else around them is miserable.  

I'm Difficult to love too...

I'm generally an upbeat and positive person.  I don't like mean, nasty, and negative people so I am definitely turned off to them and don't want to be bothered with them....but I can definitely pinpoint a context in which I would be difficult to love.

I would be difficult to love in the context of a male/female partnership.

I'm cynical and I don't want to get screwed over so I can see that it would be difficult for me to fully love and to allow myself to be truly loved in that context. I don't want my life being screwed up by another person so I would be tough to crack to love...because I don't just want to be hurt...I don't want to be ruined.

For me this isn't being dramatic, it's reality.  It's what I saw happen.  I saw dreams and visions being killed by marrying the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

So yes...I know that I am difficult to love too and I am thankful for this opportunity to grow and at least open myself to the possibility of being loved in that way.

Besides this all boils down to trust.  I trust that God will place the RIGHT person in my life to teach me what I  need to learn.  Intentional but unconventional.  I give God permission to help me out here and for me I will really need to trust God that this will be right for God's will, my life and its purpose.  No counterfeits allowed.

These Bible Studies always bring out issues (which is the point).  There should be always conviction to facilitate growth.